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Couverture  endommag6e 

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Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noi 

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The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED-), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

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beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaire  film*  fut  reproduit  grace  i  la 
gAnArositA  de: 


Bibliotheque  Rationale  du  Canada 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  «t«  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin.  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nenet*  de  l'exemplaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  evec  les  conditions  du  central  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprim«e  sont  film«s  en  commencant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derni*re  page  qui  compone  une  empreinte 
d  impression  ou  dillustration.  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
origmaux  sont  film«s  en  commenqant  par  la 
premiAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
o'lmpression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
•mpreinte. 

Un  des  aymboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derni«re  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE "    le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  etre 
filmis  i  des  taux  de  reduction  diff*rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  etre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich*.  il  est  film*  A  partir 
de  I'angle  sup*rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  i  droite 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n*cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m*thode. 


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AMERICAN  COLLEGE 

AND 

UNIVERSITY   SERIES 


AMERICAN   COLLEGE    AND 
UNIVERSITY    SERIES 


General  Editor  :  GEORGE  PHILIP  KRAPP 
ProfcMor  of  Engliab  in  Columbia  Univvrait; 


COLUMBIA      by  Frkdihick  Paul  KcprEL 
PKINCtCTON    by  Varnim  Lindinu  Collini 
HARVARD      by  John  IUyi  Uiroinm 


AV  PltEPARATlON 


WISCONSIN    by  J.   V.  A.  PvB« 
YALE  by  (lEORiiK  II.  Nittleton 

VASSAR  by  Jimkh  Monroe  Tivloh  and 

Elizabeth  Hazelton  IIaiuht 

Other  Tolumci  to  follow. 

Historical,  desrriptivc,  and  critical  accounts  of  the  more 
important  American  CoIIukcs  and  Universities. 

Cloth,  8vo.    Gilt  top,  decorated  cover.    Illustrated. 
Per  copy  ll.so  net. 

OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

AMERICAN  BRANCH  :  SS  West  Sjno  Street 

NEW  YORK  CITY 


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HARVARD 


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BY 


JOHN  HAYS  GARDINER 


NEW  YORK 
OXFORD  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

AMERICAN  BRANCH:  SS  Wk«t  $«nd  Stmiir 

LONDON,  TORONTO,  MELBOURNE.  AND  BOMBAY 
HUMPHREY  MILFORD 

1914 

ALL  RIOBTS  RESERVED 


Copyright,  1914 
BY  Oxford  Universitt  Press 

AMERICAN  BRANCH 


PREFACE 


In  view  of  the  circumstances  surrounding  the  writing 
and  publication  of  this  volume  a  brief  word  of  preface 
is  fitting. 

John  Hays  Gardiner  was  bom  at  Gardiner,  Maine, 
April  G,  1863,  the  son  of  Colonel  John  William  Tudor 
Gardiner  of  the  Class  of  1836  and  Ann  Elizabeth  (Hays) 
Gardiner,  and  the  grandson  of  Robert  Hallowell  Gar- 
iliner  of  the  Class  of  1801.  He  was  admitted  to  Harvard 
from  J.  P.  Hopkinson's  private  school  in  July,  1881, 
and  received  his  A.B.  in  1885.  The  two  following  years 
he  spent  at  the  Harvard  Law  School,  when  health  and 
strength  failed  him.  Five  years  variously  occupied  in 
private  tutoring  and  foreign  travel,  with  frequent 
poriods  of  complete  rest  at  home,  were  necessaiy  to  re- 
store him  to  an  active  life. 

In  1892  he  began  a  connection  with  Harvard  Univer- 
sity that  was  to  last  almost  continuously  for  twenty-one 
years.  From  September,  1892,  until  September,  1900, 
he  was  Instructor  in  English  in  Harvard  College ;  and 
from  September,  1900,  to  June,  1910,  Assistant  Professor 
of  English;  then,  after  a  year  devoted  to  writing,  he 
entered  the  service  of  the  Harvard  Alumni  Association 
to  assume  the  editorship  of  the  Harvard  Alumni  Bul- 
letin, a  position  which  he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death 
in  Boston  on  May  14,  1913. 

His  active  interests  were  not  confined  to  the  limits 
of  his  assigned  tasks.  One  of  the  earliest  and  most  per- 
sistent advocates  of  the  necessity  of  better  English  com- 


VI 


PREFACE 


position,  he  did  a  very  considerable  service  to  the  cause 
of  English  teaching,  particularly  in  the  schools.  Among 
his  other  good  works  for  the  Department  of  English  he 
was  influential  in  arranging  for  several  Shakespearian 
plays,  staged  in  an  improvised  open-air  theatre.  lie  was 
an  ardent  worker  for  the  welfare  of  the  Harvard  Univer- 
sity Library  and  the  Child  Memorial  Library,  and  did 
much  to  strengthen  them  in  those  fields  for  which  his 
travel  and  reading  had  given  him  a  particular  liking. 
He  was  also  actively  associated  with  the  Harvard  Co- 
operative Society  and  with  the  Harvard  Union. 

His  published  writings  were  on  those  subjects  with 
which  his  courses  were  especially  concerned  and  con- 
sisted of  three  text-books  in  English  Composition  and 
one  book  on  the  English  Bible  from  the  point  of  view  of 
English  literature. 

The  spirit  which  he  brought  to  his  work  was  the  spirit 
of  quiet  helpfulness.  To  the  cause,  the  colleague,  or  the 
undergraduate  that  needed  aid,  he  gave  generously  of 
his  money  and  of  his  time.  A  gentleman  of  rare  in- 
stincts and  warmth  of  heart,  he  is  remembered  with  affec- 
tion by  those  who  were  privileged  to  have  his  friendship. 

It  was  a  source  of  great  satisfaction  to  Gardiner  that 
he  was  able  to  complete  the  manuscript  of  "  Harvard  " 
a  few  days  before  he  died.  It  was  not,  however,  possible 
for  him  to  give  it  the  final  and  careful  revision  which  he 
had  planned.  It  has  seemed  unwise  for  others  to  at- 
tempt the  modifications  which  he  himself  might  have 
made,  and  so,  except  for  the  verification  of  certain  facts, 
the  manuscript  is  printed  as  it  was  left  by  him.  Ap- 
parently the  intention  was  to  write  of  Harvard,  its  liis- 
tory,  its  activities,  and  its  customs,  from  its  founding 
to  the  end  of  President  Eliot's  administration  in  1908. 
In  several  instances,  however,  mention  is  made  of  hap- 


PREFACE 


yu 


penings  of  a  later  date,  but  not  to  an  extent  which 
gives  a  complete  account  of  the  changes  effected  by 
President  Lowell  in  the  past  six  years.  For  any  other 
hand  than  Gardiner's  to  have  smoothed  out  these  irregu- 
'  -rities  would  have  marred  more  than  it  would  have 
helped. 

I  cannot  speak  of  those  to  whom  he  would  have  wished 
to  express  his  appreciation  of  their  assistance.  That 
there  are  many,  I  am  certain ;  their  names,  however,  I  do 
not  know.  To  none,  surely,  would  he  have  acknowl- 
edged a  greater  debt  of  gratitude  than  to  his  friend 
Edgar  Huidekoper  Wells,  whose  untiring  and  loyal  sup- 
port made  it  possible  for  him  to  complete  the  manuscript. 

The  suggestions  of  Mr.  W.  C.  Lane  and  Professor  W. 
A.  Neilson  have  been  exceedingly  happy  in  making  this 
book  ready  for  the  press,  and  to  Mr.  George  B.  Ives  I  am 
under  deep  obligations  for  the  wise  counsel  which  he  has 
so  abundantly  given. 

K.  P. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CHAFTEB  FAOB 

I    The  History  op  the  University  ...  1 

II    Harvard  College 92 

III  The  Gr.\duate  Schools 175 

IV  Equipment  por  Research       ....  233 
V    The  Government  and  the  Graduates       .  295 

Index 321 


.  "W 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Five  Presidents Frontispiece 

Josiah  Qiiincy,  1829-1845;  K.lward  Evori'tt,  I84(i- 
1849;  Jarcd  Sparks,  184'.t-18o:};  Jium'S  Walkpr, 
1853-1800;   Corneliua  C.   F»lton,   1800-18U2. 

FACINQ    PAGE 

Charter  of  1650 G 

A    Prospect   of   the    Colled-^es    in    Cambridge    in 

New   Enghind 19 

TliD  "  Burgis  View";  Uie  only  known  picture  of  the 
first  Harvard  Hall,  burmd  in  17G4. 

Charles  W.  Eliot 45 

President,  1 809- 1909. 

Faculty  Room 93 

A  Westerly  View  of  the  CoUedges  in  Cambridge, 

New  England  166 

Engraved  by  Paul  Revere. 

The  College  Yard 171 

Before  the  destruction  of  the  elms. 

The  New  Buildings  of  the  Medical  School       .       .  191 

Langdell  Hall 202 

The  Widener  Librarj' 253 

The  President's  Chair 309 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

The  Founding.  The  Firet  Struggle  for  Lil)erty.  Period  of 
Growth.  During  the  War  of  Indepciidencf.  Under  the  New  Re- 
public. Harvard  Becoini'8  Unitarian.  Intellectual  Advance. 
Conservative  Reaction.  The  End  of  the  Old  Era.  The  University 
of  To-day.  The  Expansion  of  Instruction.  The  Maturing  of 
Undergraduates.  Graduate  Instruction  and  Research.  The  Ad- 
vance in  Professional  Study. 

On  Thursday,  September  8,  1636,  old  style,  the  Gen- 
eral Court  of  the  Colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  as- 
sembled under  the  governorship  of  Henry  Vane.  At 
an  adjourned  meeting  on  October  28,  the  following 
vote  was  passed: — 

The  Court  agreed  to  give  iOOl  towards  a  schoale  or 
coUedge,  whearof  2001  to  bee  paid  the  next  yeare,  & 
2001  when  the  worke  is  finished,  &  the  next  Court  to 
appoint  wheare  &  wt  building.* 

At  an  adjourned  meeting  of  the  General  Court  on 
November  15,  1637,  "  the  collcdge  is  ordered  to  bee  at 
Newetowne."  Five  days  later  a  committee,  including 
Governor  Winthrop,  the  Deputy  Governor,  Mr.  Dudley, 
the  Treasurer,  Mr.  Bellingham,  and  of  the  clergy, 
Sheopard,  Cotton,  and  Wilson,  with  six  others,  was  ap- 
pointed "  to  take  order  for  a  coUedge  at  Newetowne." 
The  amount  of  this  first  appropriation  of  £400,  which  it 
is  estimated  was  equal  to  a  year's  income  of  the  colonial 
government,  and  the  choice  of  the  most  important  men 
»  Quinquennial  Catalogue,  1910,  p.  6. 


'2         THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

of  tl>c  colony  to  oversee  the  establisliinent  of  the  Col- 
lege, show  the  hiKli  importance  attached  to  the  founda- 
tion. The  next  year  (16;J8)  the  name  Ncwctowno  waa 
changed  to  "  Cambrigo,"  in  memory  of  the  English 
town  at  whose  university  many  of  the  colonists  had  been 
educated. 

No  actual  steps  seem  to  have  been  taken  before  this 
year,  however,  to  open  the  College.  Then,  in  1638,  the 
Reverend  John  Harvard,  a  young  dissenting  minister, 
who  had  taken  his  degree  at  Emmanuel  College,  Cam- 
bridge, in  1631,  and  in  1637  had  emigrated  to  Massachu- 
setts, died  within  a  year  of  his  arrival,  and  bequeathed 
one  liaK  of  his  property  and  his  onl  re  library  to  the  new 
College.  This  gift  made  possible  the  immediate  opening 
of  ths  College;  and  ultimately  it  received  from  John 
Harvard's  estate  over  £700,  a  sum  nearly  double  the 
original  grant  by  the  General  Court,  and  two  hundred 
and  sixty  volumes.  A  building  was  erected  and  the  first 
class  of  the  College  was  formed  in  the  same  year.  In 
recognition  of  the  bequest,  it  was  ordered  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court  on  the  13th  of  March,  1638-39,  "  that  the 
colledge  agreed  vpon  formerly  to  bee  built  at  Cambridg 
shal  bee  called  Harvard  Colledge." 

A  general  subscription  for  the  benefit  of  the  College 
followed.  The  magistrates  contributed  books  to  the 
value  of  £200  for  the  library ;  others  gave  £20  or  £30 ; 
and  there  were  many  lesser  gifts,  including,  we  are  told, 
a  number  of  sheep,  a  quantity  of  cotton  cloth  worth 
nine  shillings,  a  pewter  flagon  worth  ten  shillings,  a  fruit- 
dish,  a  sugar-spoon,  a  silver-tipped  jug,  one  great  salt 
and  one  small  trencher-salt.*  The  zeal  of  the  founders  is 
shown  in  this  passage  from  Neiv  England  s  First  Fruits 
(1643) :— 

'  Josiah  Quincy,  History  of  Harvard  University,  vol.  i,  p.  12. 


THE  FOIINniNO  3 

After  God  had  carried  us  safe  :o  New-England,  and 
wee  had  buiided  our  houses,  provided  ncctssaries  for  our 
liveli-hood,  rear'd  convenient  places  for  Gods  worship 
and  setied  the  Civill  Oovernni.nt :  One  of  tiie  next 
things  we  longed  for,  and  looked  after  was  to  advance 
Learninrj  and  perpetuate  it  to  Posterity;  dreading  to 
leave  an  illiterate  Alinistery  to  the  Churches,  when  our 
present  Ministers  shall  lie  in  the  Dust.* 

For  the  first  two  years  (1637-39)  the  "  school  "  was 
under  the  superintendence  of  Nathaniel  Eaton,  who 
seems  to  have  left  no  favorable  reputation  behinrl  him. 
He  was  soon  dismissed  and  the  duties  were  performed 
by  Mr.  Samuel  Shepard  until  the  arrival  in  the  country 
of  the  Reverend  Henry  Dunster  in  1640.  He  was  im- 
mediately elected  President  and  entered  office  August  27, 

In  the  meuj.  .ic,  under  the  .superintendence  of  Eaton, 
a  building  had  oeen  erected  for  the  school,  probably  on 
the  same  lot  with  Eaton  s  house,  the  foundation  stones  of 
which  were  discovered  on  Massachusetts  Avenue  just 
to  the  east  of  Wadsworth  House,  during  the  excavation 
for  the  Subway.  Eaton,  we  are  told,  inclosed  about  an 
acre  of  land  with  a  high  paling  and  set  out  many  apple 
trees,  and  the  College  had  a  considerable  number  of 
scholars.  In  1643  Neiv  England's  First  Fruits  describes 
the  institution  as  follows : — 


The  edifice  is  very  fair  and  comely  within  and  with- 
out, having  in  it  a  spacious  hall,  where  they  daily  meet 
at  the  Commons,  Lectures,  Exercises,  and  a  large  library 
with  some  books  to  it,  the  gifts  of  divers  of  our  friends; 
their  chambers  and  studies  also  fitted  for  and  possessed 
by  the  students,  and  all  other  rooms  of  office  necessary 
and  convenient;  and  by  the  side  of  the  College  a  fair 
Grammar  School  for  the  training  up  of  young  scholars 
and  fitting  them  for  academieal  learning,  that  still  as 
^Quinquennial  Catalogue,  1910,  p.  7. 


4         THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

they  are  judged  ripe  they  may  be  received  into  the 
College. 

Under  President  Dunster  the  College  held  its  first 
Commencement  in  1642,  with  a  graduating  class  of  nine. 
Its  most  distinguished  member  was  George  Downing, 
who  was  knighted  in  ICGO  and  became  a  baronet  in  1663, 
and  who  was  a  member  of  Parliament,  and  Ambassador 
to  the  Netherlands  from  botli  Cromwell  and  Charles 
the  Second.  By  this  time  the  College  had  so  grown  that 
it  was  found  expedient  to  give  it  a  more  formal  govern- 
ment; and  on  September  8.  1642,  the  General  Court 
passed  an  act  providing  for  a  Board  of  Overseers,  who 
should  have  the  general  management  of  the  College. 
The  act  is  as  follows: — 


Whereas,  through  the  good  hand  of  God  upon  us, 
there  is  a  College  founded  in  Cambridge,  in  the  county 
of  Middlesex,  called  Harvard  College,  for  the  encour- 
agement whereof  this  Court  has  given  the  sum  of  four 
hundred  pounds,  and  also  the  revenue  of  the  ferry 
betwixt  Charlestown  and  Boston,  and  that  the  well 
ordering  end  managing  of  the  said  College  is  of  great 
concernment, — 

It  is  therefore  ordered  by  this  Court  and  the  authority 
thereof,  that  the  Governor  and  Deputy-Governor  for 
the  time  being,  and  all  the  magistrates  of  this  juris- 
diction, together  with  tlio  teaching  elders  of  the  six  next 
adjoining  towns,— viz.  Cambridge,  Watertown,  Charles- 
town,  Boston,  Roxbury,  and  Dorchester, — and  the 
President  of  the  said  College  for  the  time  being,  shall, 
from  time  to  time,  have  full  power  and  authority  to 
make  and  establish  all  such  orders,  statutes,  and  con- 
stitutions as  they  shall  see  neeessary  for  the  instituting, 
guiding,  and  furthering  of  the  said  College  and  the 
several  members  thereof,  from  time  to  time,  in  piety, 
morality,  and  learning;  ns  also  to  dispose,  order,  and 
manage,  to  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  said  College  and 


the 


BOARD  OF  OVERSEERS  5 

the  membei's  thereof,  all  gifts,  legacies,  bequeaths,  reve- 
nues, lands,  and  donations,  as  either  have  been,  are,  or 
shall  be  conferred,  bestowed,  or  any  ways  shall  fall  or 
come  to  the  said  College. 

And  whereas  it  may  come  to  pass  that  many  of  the 
said  magistrates  and  elders  may  be  absent,  or  otherwise 
employed  in  other  weighty  affairs,  when  the  said  Col- 
lege may  need  their  present  help  and  counsel, — it  is 
therefore  ordered,  that  the  greater  number  of  magis- 
trates and  elders  which  shall  be  present,  with  the  Presi- 
tlent,  shall  have  the  power  of  the  whole.  Provided,  that 
if  any  constitution,  order,  or  orders,  by  them  made, 
shall  be  found  hurtful  unto  the  said  College,  or  the 
members  thereof,  or  to  the  weal  public,  then,  upon 
appeal  of  the  party  or  parties  grieved  unto  the  com- 
pany of  Overseers  first  mentioned,  they  shall  repeal 
the  said  order  or  orders,  if  they  shall  see  cause,  at  their 
next  meeting,  or  stand  accountable  thereof  to  the  next 
General  Court.^ 


At  one  of  the  early  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Over- 
seers (December  27,  1643)  a  college  seal  was  adopted 
which  contained  three  open  books  on  a  shield,  with  the 
word  Veritas. 

The  provision  for  the  support  of  the  College  seems 
to  have  been  uncertain.  The  original  grant  of  £400 
from  the  General  Court  was  apparently  never  paid 
over  in  a  lump.  The  General  Court,  however,  made 
annual  appropriations  for  the  salary  of  the  President. 
In  1644,  for  example,  *'  it  was  ordered  that  Jlr.  Dunster 
should  have  assigned  to  hira  £150  ...  in  part  of  the 
£400  promised  unto  him  for  his  uses  and  belonging  to 
the  College."  But  at  this  time  and  for  many  years 
afterwards,  the  President  of  the  College  had  reason 
to  complain  of  the  irregularity  and  uncertainty  in  pay- 
ment of  his  salary.    In  November,  1654,  Dunster  speaks 

•  Annual  Catalogue,  Preface. 


6         THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

of  the  President's  house  as  "  a  place  which  upon  very 
damageful  conditions  to  myself,  out  of  love  for  the 
college,  I  have  builded."  It  is  estimated  that  until 
1673  the  grants  of  tlie  General  Court  never  had  come 
up  to  £100  a  year.  The  deficiency  in  the  income  was 
made  up  by  assessments  on  the  students. 

In  1650  the  General  Court  made  another  change  in 
the  government  of  the  College  by  granting  the  charter 
under  which  the  College  lives  to-day.  It  was  found  in- 
convenient to  get  together  the  magistrates  and  the  min- 
isters of  the  six  scattered  churches  for  the  everyday 
administr?tion  of  the  College;  and  accordingly,  at  the 
instance  oi  President  Dunster,  the  General  Court  con- 
stituted the  President,  five  Fellows,  and  the  Treasurer 
a  Corporation,  with  power  to  fill  vacancies  with  the 
consent  of  the  Board  of  Overseers,  and  to  hold  property 
for  the  use  of  the  College,  and  granted  to  them  the 
power  to  "  meet  and  choose  such  officers  and  servants 
for  the  College,  and  make  such  allowances  o  them,  and 
them  also  to  remove,  and  after  death  or  removal,  to 
choose  such  others,  and  to  make  from  time  to  time  such 
orders  and  by-laws,  for  the  better  ordering  and  carrj'ing 
on  the  work  of  the  College,  as  they  shall  think  fit; 
provided  the  said  orders  be  allowed  by  the  Overseers." 
Seven  years  later  a  slight  modification  was  made  in  this 
charter,  providing  that  the  consent  of  the  Overseers 
should  not  be  neccssarj'  before  any  action  of  the  Cor- 
'loration  went  into  effect.  This  charter  has  worked 
singularly  well. 

Dunster's  presidency  lasted  till  1654,  with  great  bene- 
fit to  the  College.  Then  the  Puritan  intensity  of  theo- 
logical belief  on  all  the  details  of  the  Christian  faith 
forced  him  out,  for  ho  had  openly  declared  himself  a 
disbeliever    in    the    baptism    of    infants.      The    offense 


o 


as 


^ 


DUNSTER  PROSECUTED  7 

was  so  serious  that  he  was  indicted  by  the  Grand  Jury, 
convicted  by  the  Court,  and  required  to  give  bonds  for 
good  behavior.  As  a  result  of  this  prosecution  he  was 
compelled  to  resign  the  presidency  of  the  College.  He 
made  an  appeal  for  a  little  delay  since  "  the  time  of 
the  year  is  unseasonable,  being  now  very  near  the  short- 
est day  in  the  depth  of  winter ;  that  he  had  no  place  to 
move  to ;  that  his  wife  was  sick,  and  his  youngest  child 
so  dangerously  ill  that  they  dared  not  carry  him  out  of 
doors."  On  this  plea,  the  General  Court  allowed  him 
to  remain  in  the  President's  house  until  the  following 
March.  His  services  to  the  College  seem  to  have  been 
of  the  highest  importance.  Before  his  election  it  was 
spoken  of  as  a  school;  he  left  it  definitely  a  college, 
though  for  many  years  to  come  it  was  to  be  a  college 
somewhat  in  the  sense  that  Eton  is  one. 

Dunstcr's  successor  was  the  Reverend  Charles 
Channcy,  who  was  President  until  1672.  His  presi- 
dency covered  the  evil  times  of  the  restoration  of  the 
Stuarts  in  England,  when  the  prospects  of  the  Puritan 
colony  were  so  dark.  The  College  seems  to  have  been  in 
great  straits.  In  1655  the  Corporation  and  Overseers 
sent  information  of  the  present  necessities  of  the  College 
to  the  General  Court,  stating  that  it  had  only  "  a  build- 
ing, library,  a  few  utensils,  the  press,  some  land  which 
cannot  be  sold,  £12  per  annum  to  support  four  Fel- 
lows, and  £15  per  annum  for  scholarships."  In  1669 
the  buildings  were  described  as  "  ruinous  and  almost 
irreparable;  the  President  was  aged,  and  the  number 
of  scholars  short  of  what  they  had  been  in  former 
days."i 

In  May,  1669,  the  town  of  Portsmouth  made  a  volun- 
tary contribution  of  £60  a  year  for  seven  years  ensuing, 
'  Quincj,  uhi  sup.,  vol.  i,  p.  29. 


8  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  TNIVERSITY 

in  response  to  "  the  loud  groans  of  the  sinking  College." 
The  example  stirred  Massachusetts,  and  an  agent  was 
sent  to  Enjrland  to  solicit  aid  from  the  friends  of  the 
College.  In  the  course  of  the  following  year  subscrip- 
tions  were  received  for  X.2m).  though  some  of  them 
had  to  he  collecied  hy  process  of  law. 

Chauncy  was  a  ^'ood  scholar,  who  had  formerly  been 
Professor  of  Greek  and  IIel)rcw  at  Trinity  College, 
Cambridge.  lie  had  .some  minor  peculiarities  of  theo- 
logical faith,  but  none  so  strictly  held  that  they  did  not 
give  way  under  pressure,  and  ho  remained  President 
until  his  death. 

In  1()72  Lecmard  Hoar  (A.B.  1650).  a  elergj-man  and 
physician,  was  elected  President,  the  first  graduate  of 
the  College  so  to  servo.  His  service  was  brief  and 
stormy.  There  were  internal  intrigues  in  the  Corpora- 
tion and  disturbances  among  the  students,  which  were 
said  to  have  been  encouraged  by  Hoar's  enemies.  In 
1673  four  Fellows  resigned,  and  refused  reelection  dur- 
ing his  service,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  Overseers  to 
rconcilo  them.  Finally,  in  ^larch,  1674,  Hoar  resigned 
and  Urian  Oakes  (A.B.  1640),  one  of  the  Fellows,  was 
chosen  to  act  as  President  until  a  regular  incumbent 
•should  be  found.  This  proved  difficult,  and  he  served 
for  five  years  as  acting  President.  In  February,  1679, 
he  was  elected  President,  but  died  in  July  of  the  next 
year.  John  Rogers  (A.li.  1649)  succeeded  him  i'or  two 
years,  and  on  his  death  the  Reverend  Increase  Mather 
(A.B.  16.16)  became  acting  President,  and  in  1686 
Rector.  For  the  next  twenty  years  the  College  passed 
through  a  period  of  great  turmoil. 

In  the  meantime  the  College  had  received  important 
gifts.  In  1677  Thoophilus  Gale  bequeathed  to  it  his 
whole  estate;  and  for  many  years  his  library  constituted 


SLOW  GROWTH 


4 


1 

■'1 


more  than  half  of  the  whole  College  library.  In  1678 
Sir  IMatthew  Holworthy  bequeathed  £1000  to  the  Col- 
lege without  restriction,  the  largest  gift  received  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  College,  however,  remained 
.small;  down  to  1690  tht;  largest  graduating  class  was 
fourteen.  Some  light  on  the  age  of  its  students  is  given 
by  the  contemptuous  answer  of  President  Mather  in 
1678  to  the  proposal  that  he  shoild  remove  to  Cam- 
bridge and  give  his  whole  time  to  the  College:  "  Should 
I  leave  preaching  to  1500  souls,  for  I  suppose  so  many 
ordinarily  attend  our  congregat'ons,  only  to  expound  to 
40  or  50  children,  few  of  them  capable  of  edification 
hy  such  exercises,  I  doubt  I  should  not  do  well,"  The 
number  of  instructors  seems  also  to  have  been  small. 
In  a  manuscript  book  of  laws  signed  by  Presidents 
Ciiauney  and  Hoar,  apparently  about  the  time  of  the 
proposed  charter  of  1672,  in  a  list  of  the  Corporation 
two  members  arc  designated  as  tuiors ;  and  in  1674  the 
records  show  that  there  \  ere  three  resident  instructors. 
The  President  also  probably  gave  a  portion  of  his 
time  to  instruction. 

The  life  of  the  College  in  this  early  period  must  have 
been  that  of  a  boarding  school.  In  1656  the  General 
Court  empowered  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Har- 
vard College,  or  the  major  part  of  them,  to  "  punish 
tlie  misdemeanors  of  the  youths  either  ly  fine  or  whip- 
ping in  the  halls  openly  as  the  nature  of  the  offense 
should  require,  not  exceeding  ten  shillings  or  ten  stripes 
for  one  offense."  Their  life  was  strictly  ruled.  "  Every- 
one shall  consider  the  main  end  of  his  life  and  studies 
to  know  God  and  Jesus  Christ  which  is  etcTial  life." 
They  were  expected  to  "  honor  as  their  parents,  magis- 
trates, elders,  tutors,  and  aged  persons  by  being  silent 
in  their  presence   .    .    .   and  showing  all  those  laudable 


10       THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

expressions  of  honor  and  rt'vorcnfe  in  tlieir  presence  that 
are  in  use,  as  bowing'  bel'oro  tliem,  standing  uncovered 
or  the  like."  "  No  scholar  shall  buy,  sell,  or  exchange 
anything,  to  the  value  of  sixpence,  without  the  allow- 
ance ot  his  parents,  guardians,  or  Tutors."  "  The  schol- 
ars shall  never  use  their  mother  tongue  except  that  in 
public  exercises  of  oratory,  or  such  like,  they  be  called 
to  make  them  in  English."  * 

Nevertheless,  the  life  was  not  wholly  grim  for  the  boys 
of  fourteen  to  eighteen  who  were  the  students.  In  1666 
it  is  recorded  that  three  students  were  expelled  "  for 
the  disorder  and  injurious  carriage  towards  Andrew 
Belcher  in  killing  and  having  stolen  ropes  in  hanging 
Goodman  Sell's  dog  upon  the  sign  post  in  the  night  "; 
and  in  1G59  the  Corporation  found  it  necessary,  in  view 
of  the  "  great  complaints  of  the  exorbitant  practices  of 
some  .students  of  this  C'cllege  by  their  aliusive  words 
and  actions  towards  the  watch  of  this  town,  to  allow  the 
head  watchman  to  follow  students  into  the  College 
yard. ' ' 


In  1692  William  and  Mary  granted  a  new  ehaitcr, 
which  worked  a  revolution  in  the  constitution  and  the 
ideals  of  the  Puritan  colony,  and  incidentally  brought 
on  a  period  of  revolution  and  turmoil  in  the  College. 
Under  the  new  charter,  citizenship  was  made  dependent 
on  property,  instead  of  on  church  membership.  The 
change,  which  was  a  vital  blow  at  the  power  of  the 
theocracy,  was  l)ased  on  the  view  that  in  practice  the 
world  must  tak(^  precedence  of  the  church  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  m.u.  By  ;i  eurious  blindness,  Irerease 
Mather,  who  was  the  chief  leader  of  the  ministers' 
party,  was  influential  in  having  the  new  charter  framed 

■  Quincy,  uhi  Kup.,  vol.  i,  pp.  515,  516,  517. 


INCREASE  iMATHER 


11 


and  accepted.  He  had  been  in  Enpland  as  the  agent 
of  the  colony,  and  had  tlius  had  the  principal  voice  in 
the  nomination  of  all  the  officers  under  the  new  charter. 
This  temporary  triumph  blinded  him  to  the  fact  that  the 
source  of  power  was  henceforward  shifted  from  his  own 
order  to  the  laity.'  Hi.s  triumph  was  short-lived,  and 
his  discomfiture  began  when  he  attempted  to  make  over 
the  government  of  the  College  in  order  to  bring  it  wholly 
under  his  own  control.  He  first  proposed  a  new  char- 
ter with  a  corporation  of  ten  members,  and  no  provi- 
sion for  a  board  of  overseers  or  visitors  of  any  kind. 
This  charter  failed,  for  the  King  refused  to  give  his 
assent. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  a  period  of  much  dis- 
order in  the  government  of  the  College.  Increase 
Mather  and  his  son  Cotton  were  the  leaders  in  the 
party  that  fought  bitterly  to  maintain  the  power 
of  the  ministry,  as  against  the  majority  of  the  Cor- 
poration, led  by  John  Leverett,  William  Brattle,  and 
Thomas  Brattle,  who  belonged  to  the  party  of  progress. 
The  controversies  over  the  College  were  closely  mingled 
with  religious  disputes  among  the  churches  in  Boston. 
In  1697  Thomas  Brattle  formed  the  church  which  was 
later  known  as  the  Brattle  Square  Church,  with  more 
liberal  conditions  as  to  membership  than  would  have 
been  thought  tolerable  to  the  first  generation  of  the 
Puritan  Fathers.  This  church  was  fought,  as  a  seat  of 
apostasy,  by  the  Mathers  and  the  old  party.= 

In  the  meantime,  the  presidency  had  been  in  abey- 
ance. After  the  death  of  John  Rogers,  "-.  1684,  Reverend 
Increase  Mather  was  successively  Acting  President  for 
a  year  from  June,  1685,  and  Rector  from  July,  1686, 

'  Quinpv.  uhi  sup.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  ."iO.  ff, 
'  Ibid.,  pp.  132,  133. 


12        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  I'NIVERSITY 

for  six  years.    The  Corporation  insisted  that  the  Presi- 
dent should  reside  at  tlio  Colh^'e,  lint  Mather  wished 
to  hold  tlie  presidency  and  at  tlie  same  time  retain  his 
ehurch  in  IJoston.     Since  Camhridj^'e  couhl  be  reached 
from    IJdston    at    this    time    only    by    ferry    through 
Cliarlestown.    or    else    by    the    long    roundabout    ride 
through  Roxbury  and  Hruokline,  an  absentee  president, 
of  necessity,  ,ould  give  little  attention  to  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  College,  esiiceially  when  he  had  the  charge 
of  a  large  city  church,     p^iually.  in  1G92,  Mather  made 
some  kind  of  half-promise  to  change  his  residence,  and 
was  thereupon  elected  President.     He  kept  putting  off 
his  removal  to  Cambridge,  however,  in  spite  of  the  in- 
sistence of  the  (.Vneral  Court,  which  constituted  a  large 
part  of  the  Overseers,  and  for  nearly  ten  years  there 
were  constant  disputes  over  the  matter.    To  provide  in 
part  for  the  charge  of  the  College,  Charles  Morton  was 
made  Vice-President  in  1(397,  but  died  before  completing 
a  year  of  sfTvice,  and  two  years  later  Samuel  Willard 
(A.B.  1050)  was  chos.>n  to  the  same  office.     Finally,  in 
September,  1701,  the  General  Court  forced  Mather  to 
resign  from  the  presidency,  and  the  College  went  on 
until  1707  under  the  vice-presidency  of  Willard.    When 
the  latter  died,  John  Leverett  (A.B.  1680)  was  elected 
President,  in  January,  1707. 

In  the  meantime,  Mather  and  his  party  had  made 
various  efforts  to  make  over  the  charter,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  getting  rid  of  the  Board  of  Overseers,  and  con- 
centrating the  power  in  the  hands  of  the  old  party. 
All  of  these  efforts,  however,  faib^d,  at  one  stage  or  an- 
other, and  finally,  in  1707.  the  General  Court  passed  a 
resolution  declaring  the  charter  of  1650  to  be  still  in 


THE  STRUaOLE  FOR  LIBERTY 


13 


,.f 


■I 


force,  and  directing  the  President  and  Fellows  to  ref- 
late themselves  according  to  its  provisions. 

Even  now,  however,  Cotton  Mather,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded his  father  as  the  chief  leader  in  the  fight  for  the 
lost  cause  of  the  iiinisters,  aided  by  Chief  Justice  Sewall 
and  other  members  of  the  Board  of  Overseers,  continued 
to  make  trouble  for  the  College.  In  1718,  they  sup- 
ported a  graduate  named  Pierpont,  who  attempted, 
through  the  courts,  to  compel  the  government  of  the 
College  to  grant  him  the  master's  degree.  The  Corpora- 
tion stood  firm,  believing  that  the  case  involved  the  in- 
dependence of  the  College,  and  the  court  supported  them. 
In  the  same  year,  Sewall  and  the  other  members  of  the 
Corporation  in  the  Board  of  Overseers  bitterly  attacked 
the  President  because  he  had  given  up  the  practice  of  a 
daily  exposition  of  the  Scriptures  to  the  students. 

In  1721,  the  old  party  made  further  trouble  when 
Thomas  Hollis  of  London,  the  chief  benefactor  of  the 
College  in  the  eighteenth  century,  proposed  to  endow  a 
professorship  of  divinity.  Hollis  himself  was  a  Bap- 
tist, and  a  man  of  an  enlightened  liberality  of  thought. 
The  only  prescription  he  made  for  the  professorship  was 
that  no  one  should  be  rejected  on  account  of  being  a 
Baptist,  and  that  the  incumbent  should  make  as  his 
only  declaration  some  general  and  liberal  declarations 
of  adherence  to  Christianity.^  The  Corporation  was 
willing  to  accept  the  endowment  of  the  professorship 
on  these  liberal  terms,  and  elected  the  Reverend  Edward 
Wigglesworth  to  fill  the  new  chair.  The  Board  of  Over- 
seers, however,  in  which  there  was  a  strong  majority  of 
the  old  school,  was  by  no  means  prepared  for  so  liberal 
an  establishment;  and  they  subjected  the  new  pro- 
fessor to  a  strong  and  rigid  theological  test.    The  corre- 

»  Quincy,  ubi  sup.,  vol.  i,  pp.  531,  538. 


14        TIIK  IIISTOUY  OK  TIIK  TNIVHRSITY 


spondoiipo  shows  tliiit  Ilollis  was  far  in  advanco  of  tho 
times,  and  that  tlu'  Ovcrsctrs,  tli()iii,'li  caKcr  to  n-pcive 
the  ''ndownn'iit,  wcro  I'ar  Iroiii  uilliui;  to  aecopt  it  on 
the  tornis  on  whirlj  it  was  nfTcrod. 

In  1721  tile  militant  Ovirsccrs  found  still  nnothor 
proiind  for  nial<iii;4  trouble  Two  of  the  tutors,  Sever 
and  Welsteed,  claimed  seats  in  the  Corporation  on  the 
ground  that  they  were  Fellows.  Down  to  this  time, 
the  term  Fellow  had  been  used  indifferently  in  two 
senses,  and  in  many  cases  the  satne  men  were  Fellows 
in  both  senses.  On  the  one  hand  there  were  the  Fel- 
lows of  the  Corporation,  who  under  the  charter  had  the 
control  and  manap'ment  of  the  College.  On  tlie  other 
hand  there  were  tiio  "  Fellows  of  the  House,"  as  they 
came  to  be  called,  who,  being  Fellows  in  the  English 
sense  of  the  word,  were  also  tutors.  The  lax  use  of  the 
terms  had  made  trouble  and  left  a  knotty  point  of  con- 
stitutional usage  for  a  starting-point  of  dissension  in 
this  period  of  revolution.  The  petition  of  Sever  and 
Welsteed  seems  to  have  been  prompted  by  the  desire 
to  oust  from  the  Corporation  C'^lni^n,  .\ppleton,  and 
Wadsworth,  all  strong  members  of  ihe  liberal  party. 
After  two  years  of  dispute,  the  Council,  standing  by 
Governor  Shute  and  the  Corporation,  refused  to  concur 
nith  the  House  of  Representatives,  which  had  sided 
with  the  Overseers,  and  the  dispute  came  to  an  end. 

In  1724  John  Leverett  died.  lie  had  carried  the  Col- 
lege through  the  time  of  revolution,  and  through  his 
efforts  and  those  of  his  supporters  it  had  been  ranged 
oh  the  side  of  liberal  and  tnlcrant  ideas.  The  struggle 
had  not  been  without  effect,  for  Yale  College  was 
founded  in  1701  for  the  specific  purpose  of  providing 
comfort  and  support  for  the  older  and  narrower  doc- 
trines; and  the  party    whieh  held  to  the  stricter  doc- 


"  TEACIIIXd  ELDERS  " 


15 


trines  of  tlio  fathers  gave  it  thoir  ardent  support.  Cot- 
ton Mather  even  ina«1"  an  cfTurt,  though  without  suc- 
cess, to  divert  tile  liberality  of  Thonms  Ilollis  from 
IIar^•ard  to  Yale. 


On  Leverett  's  death,  the  Corporation  elected  first  the 
Reverend  Joseph  Sewall  nud  then  the  Reverend  Benja- 
min Colinan  as  President,  but  both  declined;  and  in 
June,  1725,  the  Reverend  Henjjiniin  Wadsworth  (A.H. 
1090)  was  elected.  The  salary  of  the  Presidents  was 
still  paid  by  the  General  Court  and  the  payments  had 
been  irregular.  Leverett  had  been  in  the  greatest  straits 
and  had  received  little  comfort  from  the  General  Court. 
On  Wadsworth's  election  it  appropriated  ill 000  to  build 
a  house  for  him.  This  hou.se,  known  by  his  name,  is  still 
.standing. 

Wadsworth's  twelve  years  of  .service  were  on  the  whole 
times  of  peace.  The  only  serious  disturbance  came  from 
the  growing  strength  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  an 
attempt  to  have  it  take  part  in  the  government  of  the 
College.  When  King's  Chapel  was  dedicated,  there  was 
i'or  the  first  time  in  Boston  a  niini'^ter  of  the  Established 
Church.  In  1727,  the  Reverend  Dr.  Cutler,  who  had 
been  rector  of  Yale  College  and  then  had  become  a  con- 
vert to  Episcopalianism,  petitioned  that  "  he  might  be 
notified  to  be  present  at  the  meetings  of  the  Overseers  "; 
and  the  Reverend  Mr.  ^Myles,  rector  of  King's  Chapel, 
I)resented  a  similar  petition.  The  right  to  a  seat  in  the 
Corporation  turned  on  the  definition  of  the  term  "  teach- 
ing elder  ";  and  it  was  successfully  pointed  out  that  the 
term  was  unknown  in  the  Establisiied  Church  and  could 
apply  only  to  Puritan  churelus. 

During  the  thirty  years  of  tlic  presidency  of  Leverett 
and  Wadsworth  the  College  grew  steadily  iu  numbers. 


16        THE  HISTORY  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY 

After  1719  no  class  lell  below  twenty,  and  in  1725  tlie 
number  of  graduates  rose  to  forty-five.  Little  is  known 
of  the  studies  down  to  this  time  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. The  re(iuirein('nts  for  admission  wore  "  so  much 
Latin  as  was  sutTicient  to  understand  Tully  or  any  lii<e 
classical  author,  and  to  make  and  speak  true  Itatin  in 
prose  and  verse,  and  so  much  Greek  as  was  included  in 
declinini,'  perfectly  the  paradigms  of  the  Oreek  nouns  aiui 
verbs. "  The  students  were  practiced  twice  a  day  in  read- 
ing the  Scripture.s,  with  observations  on  their  language 
and  logic.  In  the  first  year,  we  are  told,  they  studied 
"  logic,  physics,  etymology,  syntax,  and  practice  on  the 
principles  of  grammar  ";  in  the  second  year,  "  ethics, 
politics,  prosody  and  dialectics,  practice  of  poesy,  and 
Chaldee."  In  the  third  year  they  had  "  arithmetic, 
geometry,  astronomy,  excreises  in  style,  composition, 
epitome,  both  in  prose  and  veisc,  Hebrew,  and  Syriae."  ' 

This  discipline  prol)ably  la.sted  well  into  the  eight- 
eenth century,  thougli  it  is  a  sign  of  the  decaying  exclu- 
siveness  of  emphasis  on  religion  that  the  party  which 
held  to  the  old  traditions  was  constantly  attempting  to 
enforce  the  rule  that  the  President  should  expound  the 
Scriptures  daily  to  the  students,  and  that  the  presidents 
were  apparently  unwilling  to  keep  up  the  practice. 

The  College  also  prospered  financially.  In  1732  the 
estat.'  of  the  College  produced  an  income  of  £728,  not 
including  the  endowments  for  -pecial  purposes.  In  1727 
Thomas  Hollis  had  endowed  a  second  professorship  of 
mathematics  and  natural  philosophy. 

In  1737,  on  the  death,  of  President  Wadsworth,  the 

Reverend  Edward  Ilolyoke  (A.B.  1705)  was  elected  to 

the  presidency,  and  served  thirty-two  years,-— a  longer 

term  than  has  been  reached  by  any  president  of  the 

•  Quiney,  iihi  sup.,  vol.  i,  pp.  190,  191. 


IIOLYOKE'S  ADMINISTRATION 


17 


1 


University  except  President  Eliot.  Ilis  administra- 
tion carried  the  College  down  to  the  threshold  of  the 
ilevolutiouary  War.  During  his  time,  the  unwritten 
constitution  of  the  C'^Uege  underwent  some  development, 
through  the  ..using  of  the  constitutional  question 
whether  the  Ov  rscers  had  the  right  to  initiate  proceed- 
ings for  the  ren  v;J  of  a  tuto;*.  The  Corporation  in  this 
case  waived  the  teehnioalit}  and  removed  the  offender; 
but,  to  prevent  the  question  from  coming  up  again,  they 
established  the  custom  of  appointing  tutors  for  a  fixed 
term  of  three  years.  At  the  same  time,  the  ancient  cus- 
tom of  taking  the  two  senior  tutors  into  the  Corpora- 
tion was  allowed  to  lapse.  Just  before  this  another 
question  arose  throu,"h  the  necessity  of  removing  a  pro- 
fessor. The  first  Hollis  Professor  of  Mathematics,  Green- 
wood, had  turned  out  badly.  Even  before  he  was 
elected,  Thomas  Hollis,  the  founder  of  the  profes.sor.ship, 
was  disturbed  by  finding  that  Greenwood  had  left  un- 
paid debts  in  England,  and  that  in  a  short  time  he  had 
spent  £300  in  conviviality,  and  had  bought  "  three 
pair  of  pearl  silk  stockings."  Ilollis's  distrust  was  well- 
founded  ;  for  Greenwood  turned  out  to  be  more  or  less 
nf  a  drunkard,  and  he  had  finally  to  be  removed,  in  1738. 
The  action  tended  to  confirm  the  control  of  the  College 
by  the  Corporation. 

During  llolyoke's  administration,  the  College,  with 
all  New  England,  was  much  moved  by  a  great  wave  of 
religious  enthusiasm.  The  way  had  been  prepared  by 
the  eloquence  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  who  stirred  all 
men's  minds  with  his  vivid  pictures  of  the  burning  tor- 
tures awaiting  sinners  in  the  world  to  come.  On  top 
of  the  strong  wave  of  religious  emotion  which  was  thus 
created  came  George  Whitefield,  who  went  through  New 
England  conducting  revivals.    At  Harvard  College  his 


h 


18      THE  iiisroRY  OF  THE  i:xivp:rsity 

('loquonc(>  is  Sciid  to  have  wrought  wonderfully  in  the 
hearts  of  tho  students.  His  opinion  of  the  religious 
state  of  New  Englr.nd  was  not  flattoring:  he  wrote,  "  As 
for  the  universities.  I  believe  it  may  be  said  that  theii: 
light  has  become  darkness;  darkness  tl.at  may  be  felt, 
and  is  complained  of  by  the  most  godly  ministers."* 

The  Overseers,  who  continued  to  be  stricter  Calvinists 
than  the  Corporation,  looked  with  favor  on  the  revival, 
and  appointed  June  10,  1741.  for  a  day  of  thanksgiving 
for  "  this  work  of  God."  Only  five  of  the  forty  mem- 
bers of  the  board  appeared  at  the  meeting,  however,  and 
it  was  necessary  to  adjourn  it.  The  chief  fruits  of  the 
revival  seein  to  have  been  a  new  tlaming  up  of  the  re- 
ligious discord  which  for  so  long  made  New  England  a 
place  of  hatred  among  brethren,  and  the  stirring  up  of 
bitter  attacks  on  the  College.  In  1744,  the  President, 
professors,  tutors,  and  instructors  found  it  expedient  to 
publish  "  testimony  against  tho  Reverend  Mr.  George 
Whitetieid  and  his  conduct,"  in  which  they  declared 
that  his  attacks  ri  the  College  were  uncharitable,  cen- 
sorious, and  slanderous.  When  Whiteficld  replied.  Dr. 
Wigglosworth,  Iloljis  Professor  of  Divinity,  issued  a  full 
and  elaborate  answer,  in  which  he  defended  the  tutors 
from  tho  charge  that  they  did  not  pray  with  their  pupils, 
or  watch  their  religious  development,  and  he  refuted 
the  charge  that  the  discipline  of  the  College  was  lax. 
This  controvei-sy  with  Whitefield  was  the  last  of  a  theo- 
logical character  in  which  the  governors  of  the  College 
officially  took  part.^  The  College  again  took  its  stand 
on  the  liberal  side  and  against  those  who  bound  the 
consciences  of  men  under  rigid  rules. 

In  President  Ilolyoke's  term,  in  1764,  came  one  of  the 


'  Qiiincy,  ubi  sup.,  vol.  ii,  p.  41. 
'  Ibid.,  vo!,  ii.  p.  "vj;, 


V. 


^ 

* 

1— 1 

^ 

A 

— 

=s 

^^* 

~ 

-/ 

^ 

,  ^ 

y 

—4 

■r 

y. 

— 

— 

■^ 

^ 

i,' 

■< 

— 

«-» 

^ 

c. 

c-> 

<: 

~ 

O 

^ 

^ 

E^ 

^ 


—    «B 


^•a 


BURNING  OF  HARVARD  HALL 


19 


^' J 


proat  calamities  of  the  Collego,  tlio  Imrninff  of  Harvard 
Hall,  in  which  were  kept  the  library   and  the  philo- 
sophical apparatus.    The  fire  occurred  while  the  build- 
ing' was  in  use  by  the  General  Court,  which  had  re- 
moved to  Cambridge  on  account  of  an  epidemic  of  small- 
pox in  Boston,  and  it  broke  out  during  a  bitter  snow- 
storm on  the  night  of  February  2.     Tiie  buil'^ing  was 
totally  destroyed,   with  all  its  contents,  and   the  now 
Hollis  Hall,  close  by  on  the  northeast,  was  barely  saved. 
The  loss  was  severe,  especially  in  the  destruction  of  the 
library.    The  catalogue,  which  has  been  preserved,  shows 
that  it  contained  about  five  thousand  volumes,  including 
the  books  which  had  been  left  by  John  Harvard.     The 
library  was  an  excellent  collection  for  the  times,  strong 
in  Hebrew  and  other  Biblical  books.     It  had  all  the 
P^athers,  Greek  and  Latin,  in  the  best  editions,  great 
numbers  of  tracts  and  sermons,  an  excellent  collection 
of  the  Greek  and  Roman  Classics,  which  had  been  given 
by  Bishop  Berkeley;  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  So- 
ciety, of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  in  France,  and  other 
scientific  works,  and  a  collection  of  the  most  approved 
medical   authorities  of   the   time,   with   a   few  ancient 
manuscripts  in  different  languages.     Besides  the  books, 
there  were  some  anatomical  cuts  and  two  skeletons,  a 
variety  of  curiosities,  natural  and  artificial,  and  a  fount 
of  Greek  type.     The  philosophical  apparatus  included 
various  machines  for  experiments  in  mechanics,  hydro- 
statics, pneumatics,  and  optics,  besides  an  orrery,  an 
armillary  sphere,  a  box  of  microscopes,  and  a  number 
of  telescopes,  one  of  them  twenty-four  feet  long.     The 
list  shows  that  the  College  was  for  the  time  excellently 
equipped  with  books  and  with  scientific  apparatus.^ 
The  gifts  to  restore  the  loss  were  prompt  and  gener- 
'  Quiney,  ubi  sup.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  481  jf. 


i   I 


k 


20        THE  HISTORY  OP  THE  UNIVEKSITY 

oils.  The  General  Court,  since  the  building  had  been 
in  its  (Kfciipation  at  the  time  of  the  fire,  appropriated 
£2000  to  rebuild  tlio  hall,  and  reimbursed  the  students 
whose  books  and  furniture  had  been  destroyed.'  Gifts 
of  money  poured  in,  and  there  were  also  many  gifts  of 
books  and  of  philosophieal  apparatus.  Governor  Bern- 
ard gave  more  than  three  hundred  volumes.  Thomas 
Palmer  of  London  gave  Lr  Anti'hita  liomane  and  An- 
tiquities of  Ihrcxilaneum,  making  in  all  twenty  volumes. 
The  Province  ot  New  Hampshire  gave  seven  hundred 
and  forty-three  volumes.  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin  gave 
valuable  scientific  instruments,  some  of  which  are  still 
extant.  The  gifts  of  books  and  apparatus  were  very 
numerous,  and  their  value  was  estimated  at  over  £1000. 
Tlie  new  hall  was  completed  in  June,  1766.  Other 
buildings  erected  in  President  Holyoke's  term  were 
Holden  Chapel,  which  was  a  gift  from  the  widow  of 
Samuel  Holden,  who  had  been  Governor  of  the  Bank  of 
England,  and  Hullis  Hall,  which  was  built  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  ..nd  named  after  the  Hollis  family,  whose 
generosity  to  the  College  all  through  the  eighteenth 
century  was  liberal  and  unremitting.  In  1765,  the  Col- 
lego  received  a  legacy  of  £1000  .sterling  from  Thomas 
HaLcock,  for  a  professorship  of  Hebrew  and  other 
Oriental  languages. 

By  this  time  the  College  had  advanced  well  beyond 
the  point  at  which  it  was  not  much  more  than  an  upper 
boarding-schonl.  Corporal  punishment  had  gone  out  of 
date  long  before  President  Holyoke's  time.  In  1733, 
in  the  administration  of  Wadsworth,  William  Vassall,  a 
Senior,  had  brought  suit  against  Daniel  Rogers,  one  of 


see 
2-44. 


'  Tu''  ^" '"**''"'=^'''l  I'^t  of  hooks  nnd  articles  lost  by  the  stiidenta, 
e  the  Publications  of  the  Colonial  Society  of  Mass.,  vol.  xiv,  pp. 


MODE  OF  INSTRUCTION 


21 


tlie  tutors  of  tlu>  College,  for  an  assault,  which  was 
apparently  an  attempt  to  enforce  the  rugged  discipline 
of  the  narlier  days;  and  though  the  Superior  Court  of 
Judicature  reversed  the  sentence  which  was  imposed,  it 
was  recognized  that  the  practice  belonged  to  another 
af,'e.  President  Ilolyoke,  who  graduated  in  1705,  said 
tliat  even  i':  his  student  days  the  practice  was  going 
out  of  use. 

Just  before  the  close  of  President  Ilolyoke 's  adminis- 
tration a  great  step  forward  was  made  in  the  mode  of 
instruction.  Down  to  17G7  each  of  the  tutors  had  ear- 
ried  a  class  through  the  college  course,  teaching  them 
in  all  subjects.  In  May,  1766,  a  committee  of  the  Board 
of  Overseers  reported  a  plan  for  distributing  the  differ- 
ent subjects  among  different  tutors,  one  of  whom  should 
teach  Greek,  another  Latin,  another  logic,  metaphysics, 
and  ethics,  and  a  fourth  natural  philosophy,  geography, 
a.stronomy,  and  the  elements  of  mathematics.  It  also 
provided  for  a  tutor  in  elocution,  composition  and  Eng- 
lish, rhetoric  and  other  parts  of  the  belles  lettres,  and 
that  the  divinity  professor  should  instruct  all  scholars 
in  divinity.  The  Corporation  accepted  the  plan,  and 
it  took  effect  at  the  end  of  the  winter  vacation  in 
January,  1767.^ 

About  the  same  period  there  aro?"  the  weighty  ques- 
tion whether  tutors  and  upper  classmen  should  con- 
tinue to  send  Freshmen  on  errands.  In  May,  1760,  the 
Overseers  went  so  far  as  to  recommend  the  prohibiting 
of  "  their  being  sent  on  errands  after  the  ringing  of 
tlu-  commons  bell  in  the  evening  ";  but  the  reform  was 
too  radical,  and  the  custom  continued.  In  1761  a  com- 
mittee  of  the  Overseers  considered  the  whole  system  of 
fines,  of  which  a  curious  list  has  been  preserved.  The 
*  Quiucy,  ubi  sup.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  133  and  497. 


22        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  T'XIVERSTTY 

Ovorsoors  found  it  incxpodii'nt  ontircly  to  abolish  the 
fines,  but  thty  proposed  that  thoro  shouhl  bo  a  system  of 
warnings,  private  and  pul)lie.  witli  notifieation  to  par- 
ents. This  system  lasted  well  beyond  the  midille  of  the 
nineteenth  eentury  in  the  form  of  private  and  public 
admonitions. 

On  the  whole,  the  long  presideney  of  Holyokc  was  a 
time  of  steady  progress  and  liberalizing,  but  on  his 
death.  June  1,  1700,  tlie  College  entered  on  a  period  of 
trouble.  There  was  difiieulty  in  finding  a  new  presi- 
dent: John  Wintlirop  (A.B.  17:52),  Hollis  Professor  of 
Mathematies,  whose  beautiful  portrait  by  Copley  is  one 
of  the  adornments  of  the  Faeulty  room  at  Harvard, 
declined  the  office,  as  did  two  other  members  of  the 
Corporation. 

The  Reverend  Samuel  Locke  (A.B.  1755),  who  was 
then  chosen  and  aeeeptcd,  apparently  left  little  im- 
pression on  the  College.  He  served  only  from  ilarch 
21,  1770,  to  December  1,  1773.  He  was  succeeded  in 
October  of  the  next  year  by  Samuel  Langdon  (A.B. 
1740),  who  saw  the  College  through  the  Revolution. 


In  the  meantime  politics  were  waxing  warm.  In  1768 
the  members  of  the  Senior  class,  to  show  their  patriotism, 
voted  unanimously  to  "  take  their  degrees  in  the  manu- 
factures of  this  countrj',"  and  accordingly  appeared 
at  Commencement  in  home-manufactured  clothes.  In 
1773  the  prevailing  republicanism  of  the  time  was  mani- 
fested by  a  change  in  the  Triennial  Catalogue;  and 
the  names  of  graduates,  which  down  to  that  year  had 
been  printed  according  to  the  rank  of  their  families, 
were  thenceforth  arranged  alphabetically.  The  students 
seem  for  the  most  part  to  have  been  on  the  side  of 
liberty,  tliough  a  few  of  the  aristocrats  manifested  their 


IN  THE  REVOLUTION 


23 


prinoiplcs  by  bringing  "  India  tea  "  iuto  the  College 
coniiiions. 

In  1773  the  mistake  was  made  of  electing  John  Han- 
cock treasurer.  He  accepted  the  honor,  and  wholly 
neglected  the  duties ;  and  lor  twenty  years  the  Corpora- 
tion wrestled  with  the  confusion  into  which  his  neglect 
had  thrown  the  accounts.  Final  settlement  was  not 
reaclicd  until  1793,  some  years  after  Hancock's  death. 

Since  Boston  was  the  seat  of  the  first  resistance  to 
British  rule,  it  was  inevitable  that  Harvard  College 
should  be  much  disturbed.  During  the  occupation  of 
Boston  by  the  British  troops  in  17C8,  Governor  Bernard 
adjourned  the  General  Court  to  Cambridge,  where  they 
took  possession  of  the  halls  of  the  College,  apparently 
without  first  asking  leave  of  the  Corporation.  A  little 
later,  however,  when  the  old  chapel  was  found  too  small, 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  ask  the  Corporation  for 
the  use  of  the  new  chapel,  and  this  was  readily  granted. 
AVlien,  in  1770,  Thomas  Hutchinson,  as  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor, convened  the  General  Court,  to  meet  at  Harvard 
College  in  Cambridge,  the  Corporation  addressed  a 
formal  remonstrance  to  him.  In  consequence  the  au- 
thorities thereafter  made  application  to  the  Corpora- 
tion for  the  use  of  the  College  halls.  When  Hutchin- 
son, who  was  a  gi.duate  of  the  College  in  the  class  of 
1727,  was  appointed  Governor  in  succession  to  Bernard, 
although  the  members  of  the  Corporation  were  opposed 
to  Iiim  politically,  they  sent  him  a  ceremonial  message 
of  congratulation  on  his  appointment,  and  soon  after 
the  Governor  visited  the  College  in  state,  attended  by 
the  Lieutenant-Governor,  the  Council,  the  sheriff  of  the 
county,  and  a  detachment  of  the  troop  of  guards.^ 

With  the  opening  of  the  war  by  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
'  ftuincy,  ubi  sup.,  vol.  ii,  pp.  153-155. 


24        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  IXIVERSITY 

ton,  on  April  10,  177"),  the  CnlloKc  found  its<'lf  fairly  in 
the  storm  center;  for  the  militia  of  Massachusetts  and 
the  nciphhoring  colonies  were  assembled  in  Cambridge. 
The  students  were  sent  away,  and  the  College  build- 
ings were  taken  over  for  the  use  of  the  troops.  The 
officers  were  (|uarteri'd  in  private  houses  in  the  town. 
On  June  15  the  I'rovii  -ial  Congress  made  provision 
for  the  removal  of  the  library  and  philosophical  appara- 
tus to  Andovcr.  where  they  would  be  safer,  and  on  the 
same  day  the  Corporation  consulted  the  Congress  as  to 
the  expediency  of  holding  Commencement  for  the  regu- 
lar conferring  of  degrees.  On  July  2,  General  Wash- 
ington took  command  of  the  army  of  the  United  Colonies 
on  Cambridge  Common,  just  at  the  gates  of  the  College. 
By  that  time  the  confusion  was  so  great  tliat  it  was  im- 
possible to  hold  Commencement,  and  that  year  the  de- 
grees were  conferred  on  a  general  diploma.  In 
September  it  was  decided  to  remove  the  College  to 
Concord,  wh(>re  it  had  been  ascertained  that  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  students  could  be  boarded.  Such 
portion  of  the  books  and  philosophical  apparatus  as 
were  essential  were  taken  from  Aado'-^r  to  Concord, 
and  arranged  on  shelves  in  a  private  house. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Boston.  March  17,  1776,  the 
Corporation  and  Overseers  conferred  the  honorary  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Laws  on  General  Washington,  his 
only  predecessor  in  this  distinction  being  John  Win- 
throp,  who  had  received  it  in  177:1  In  June  of  this 
same  year,  the  seat  of  war  having  removed  from  the 
neighborhood  of  Boston,  it  was  found  possible  to  bring 
the  students  back  to  Cambridge.  The  College  had  thus 
been  in  exile  for  fourteen  months,  and  its  affairs  had 
become  much  disordered.  The  library  and  apparatus 
were  still  dispersed,  and  the  buildings  had  not  been  i!a- 


IN  THE  KK VOLITION 


25 


I 


proved  by  their  occupation  as  barracks.  Before  affairs 
were  st-ttled,  the  Collogo  was  threatened  with  another 
disturbance  of  its  quiet  routine;  for  in  the  autumn  of 
1777  it  was  proposed  that  Burpoyne's  troops  should 
be  quartcreil  in  tlie  College  buildings  while  they  were 
waitiufr  for  sliipment  to  Europe.  The  matter  went  so 
far  that  at  the  end  of  November  the  students  were  dis- 
missed to  their  homes.  The  Corporation,  however,  firmly 
opposed  this  use  of  the  buildiuRs,  and  other  quarters 
were  found  for  the  captives.  On  the  whole,  Harvard 
came  through  the  period  with  surprisingly  little  dis- 
location. 

The  College  was,  however,  not  without  its  internal 
troubles.  Though  President  Langdon  seems  to  have 
kept  its  affairs  pretty  well  in  hand  through  the  Revo- 
lution, just  at  its  close  he  was  forced  out  suddenly  by 
an  uprising  of  the  students,  who  passed  resolutions, 
and  sent  a  memorial  to  the  Corporation,  charging  him 
with  "  impiety,  heterodoxy,  unfitness  for  the  office  of 
preacher  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  still  more  for 
that  of  president."  The  attack  came  without  warning, 
and  Langdon  yielded  to  the  demand  of  the  students; 
wlicreupon  they  passed  resolutions  almost  directly  op- 
posite in  tenor.  The  resignation  was  accepted  by  the 
Corporation,  to  take  effect  at  Commencement,  August 
W,  1780. 


The  year  1780  was  made  notable  in  the  history  of  the 
College  by  the  inclusion  in  the  Constitution  adopted 
by  tlie  Commonwealth  of  Mas.sachusetts  of  a  provision 
expressly  confirming  to  the  President  and  Fellows  the 
enjoyment  of  "  all  the  powers,  authorities,  rights,  liber- 
ties, privileges,  immunities,  and  franchises  which  they 
now  have  or  are  entitled  to  have,  use,  exercise,  and 


(  'i 


26        TIIK  HISTORY  OF  TITK  I'NIVERSITY 

'•njoy"  riidor  tliis  Constitution  tlic  Oovcrnor,  Liou- 
tenant-Oovcrnor,  C'uuncil,  iind  Scnatf  of  the  Ccjniinon- 
wealth  took  the  i)liK'0  in  tin-  Moard  of  Ovorsoors  of  the 
Governor,  DcpiityOovcrnor,  and  mapistratos  of  the 
colonial  government.  Thi'  Colli'go  thus  retained  its 
onicial  Ponnt"^tion  with  the  State.  The  Constitution 
named  the  institution  infliscriminatcly  the  College,  and 
tilt'  University  at  Cambridge;  and  from  this  time  may 
be  dated  tlic  use  of  the  latter  term. 

Afttr  President  Langdon's  resignation,  it  was  nearly 
a  ytar  and  a  half  before  his  sueeessor,  Joseph  Willard, 
(A.li.  17(i.')),  entered  into  the  presidency,  on  December 
19,  1781.  The  early  part  of  his  administration  was 
greatly  troubled  by  the  <'fforts  to  bring  John  Hancock, 
who  had  been  treasurer  from  1773  to  1777,  to  an  ac- 
counting. Apparently  he  had  taken  the  office  largely 
from  vanity,  and  liad  given  it  so  little  attention  that  no 
one  knew  where  the  College  stood  financially.  lie  had 
carried  the  books  and  papers  with  him  to  Philadelphia, 
and  subjected  them  to  great  damage  from  careless 
keeping.  During  his  lifetime  he  resisted  all  efForts  of 
the  College  for  a  settlement ;  and  it  was  only  after  his 
death  in  179.'5  that  the  new  treasurer  was  able  to  recover 
from  his  estate  what  he  owed  the  College,  and  then 
with  the  loss  of  compound  interest.  This  was  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  Hancock  was  a  rich  man,  and  left  a 
large  property. 

The  most  pregnant  event  of  President  Willard 's  ad- 
ministration was  the  establishment  of  the  "  Medical 
Institution  of  Harvard  University,"  the  first  of  the 
professional  schools  to  take  its  place  by  the  side  of  the 
College.  For  the  first  few  years  the  Medical  School 
was  not  differentiated  from  the  College.  When  in  1782, 
through  the  energy  of  Dr.  John  Warren   (A.B.   1771), 


iMKDICAL  SCHOOL  FOUNDED 


27 


till'  ('orporation  elected  three  professors  of  medical 
siiltji'cts,  tile  lectures  were  first  Riven  in  Cuuibridge,  and 
were  open  to  students  of  the  College.  The  three  chairs 
Win'  shortly  endowed,  two  of  them  by  tlie  widow  and 
lirotlier  of  Kzekiel  Ilcrsey  (A.I3.  1728),  and  the  third 
liy  William  Krving  {AM.  175.3)  ;  and  the  ilersey  Tro- 
iVssorship  of  Anatomy  and  Surgery,  the  Ilersey  Pro- 
fessorship of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Physic,  and 
tlie  Krviiig  Professorship  of  Chemistry,  are  the  oldest 
medical  professorships  of  the  University.  In  1810  the 
Jledical  Institution  was  moved  to  Boston,  both  for  the 
sake  (if  being  near  the  hospitals,  and  because  the  two 
prot(\ssors  who  lived  in  Boston  found  it  almost  impossible 
to  give  the  time  necessary  in  those  days  to  make  the 
journey  to  and  from  Cambridge.  In  its  new  quarters 
the  school  throve  with  renewed  vigor  and  soon  drew 
students  from  all  over  New  England. 

In  the  College  there  seems  to  have  been  a  slight  at- 
tempt to  break  away  from  the  rigid  discipline  of  the 
Fathers,  though  there  were  as  yet  few  subjects  to  study 
besides  the  classics.  In  1787  an  advance  in  scholarship 
was  made  by  substituting  Horace,  Sallust,  Cicero  de 
Oratorc,  Homer,  and  Xcnophon,  for  Virgil.  Cicero's 
Orations,  Ciesar,  and  the  Greek  Testament.  At  the  same 
time  the  number  of  exercises  was  increased,  and  some 
effort  was  made  to  see  that  the  whole  class  did  the 
work.  Besides  the  classics,  which  constituted  the  greater 
part  of  the  education,  the  Freshmen  had  instruction  in 
rhetoric,  elocution,  and  arithmetic;  the  Sophomores  in 
aljrcbra,  and  some  other  mathematics;  the  Juniors  in 
Livy,  Doddridge's  Lectures,  and  the  Greek  Testament; 
the  Seniors  in  logic,  mctaphj-sics,  and  ethics.  All  classes 
had  instnietion  in  declamation,  chronology,  and  history; 
and  the  Freshmen  and  Sophomores  were  required  to  study 


',• 


28 


THE  HISTORY  OP  THE  UNIVERSITY 


Hebrew,  though  vvitli  the  option  of  taking  French  in- 
stead.  An  attempt  to  institute  a  system  of  public  ex- 
hibitions by  students  selected  through  an  examination 
by  a  committee  of  the  Corporation  and  Overseers,  in 
order  "  to  excite  the  students  to  a  noble  emulation," 
seems  to  have  excitod  them  instead  to  a  scries  of  dis- 
turbances which  caused  the  new  regulations  to  be  with- 
drawn;  but  the  custom  of  holding  public  exhibitions 
continued  down  to  about  1870. 

During  President  Willard's  time  the  College  went 
through  a  crisis  in  its  financial  affairs,  from  which  it 
emerged  independent  of  state  support.  The  Corpora- 
tion in  1780  petitioned  the  General  Coart  to  pay  to  the 
President  a  permanent  salary.  The  Court  made  a  grant 
of  £300  for  a  single  year.  After  many  applications 
for  aid,  with  small  responses  from  the  General  Court, 
the  Corporation  finally  undertook  the  responsibility  for 
all  salaries  and  expenses.  Fortunately,  under  the  skill- 
ful management  of  the  Treasurer,  Ebenezer  Storer 
(A.B.  1747),  who  had  the  effective  aid  of  James  Bow- 
doin  (AB.  1771),  and  John  Lowell  (A.B.  1760),  the  in- 
vestments had  prospered.  In  1793  they  amounted  to 
$182,000. 


President  Willard  died  September  25,  1804,  and  it 
was  nearly  two  years  before  the  Corporation  elected 
his  successor,  partly  because  Fisher  Amos,  their  first 
choice,  declined.  The  choice  finally  lay  between  Samuel 
Webber  (A.B.  1784),  Hollis  Professor  of  Mathematics 
and  Natural  Philosophy,  and  Dr.  Eliphnlet  Pearson 
(A.B.  1773),  Hancock  Professor  of  Hebrew,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Corporation.  The  latter  during  the  interim 
bitterly  opposed  the  election  of  the  Reverend  Henry 
Ware  to  the  Hollis  Professorship  of  Divinity,  on  account 


LIBERAL  OPLNIONS  TRIUMPH 


29 


of  the  latter 's  Unitarianism.  The  Corporation,  however, 
by  electing  Dr.  Ware  and  the  Overseers  by  confirming 
him,  definitely  threw  the  weight  of  Harvard  College 
on  the  side  of  the  Unitarian  movement  and  against  the 
party  which  stood  by  Calvinism.  When  the  Corpora- 
tion, soon  after,  elected  Webber  to  th'e  presidency.  Dr. 
Pearson  resigned  both  his  professorship  and  his  seat 
in  the  Corporation,  because  he  could  no  longer  hope  to 
"  render  any  essential  service  to  the  interests  of  re- 
ligion by  continuing  his  relation  to  the  College."  The 
Corporation  urged  him  to  reconsider,  but  he  declined 
to  do  so. 

By  thus  putting  the  College  on  the  liberal  side  in  the 
current  religious  discussion  the  Corporation  maintained 
its  traditions,  and  actively  upheld  the  liberty  of  indi- 
vidual inquiry  and  decision  in  matters  of  religion.  At 
the  same  time  they  cut  the  College  off  from  the  great 
majority  of  the  people  of  New  England  and  the  rest 
of  the  country;  and  the  slow  growth  of  the  University 
all  through  the  middle  of  the  century  was  in  part  due 
to  the  fact  that  it  was  regarded,  and  in  large  part  was 
governed,  as  a  seminary  for  the  loading  classes  of  Bos- 
ton, who  had  almost  universally  adopted  the  new  doc- 
trines. 

President  Webber's  administration  was  short  and 
imeventful.  During  his  time  Stoughton  Hall  was  built 
(1805)  from  the  proceeds  of  a  lottery,  and  the  funds  for 
the  building  of  Holworthy  Hall  (1812)  were  raised  in 
the  same  manner.  In  1805  John  Quincy  Adams  was 
elected  the  first  Boylston  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and 
Oratory,  though  under  the  terms  of  his  acceptance  his 
service  was  limited  to  a  small  number  of  lectures.  It 
came  to  an  end  in  1810,  when  he  was  sent  as  minister 
from  the  United  States  to  the  Court  of  Russia.    In  1805 


i.i  I 

<  ■    r 

I     \ 

m 


'.W 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 


$30,000  was  raised  by  subscription  to  found  a  profes- 
sorship of  natural  history  and  in  two  years  the  Botanic 
Garden  was  estahlislied.  In  1810  the  constitution  of  the 
Board  of  Overseers  was  mollified  by  taking  out  of  it 
the  Senate  of  the  State  and  substituting  fifteen  laymen 
to  be  elected  by  the  Board  itself.  Besides  these, 
the  Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  the  Council,  the 
President  of  tlie  Senate,  and  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
were  cx-oflicio  members  of  the  Board,  and  there  were 
fifteen  ministers  of  Congregational  churches.  The 
rights  of  the  University  were  guarded  by  providing 
that  the  act  should  not  go  into  effect  until  approved 
by  the  Corporation  and  Overseers. 

When  President  "Webber  died,  July  17,  1810,  the  Cor- 
poration elected  to  succeed  him  the  Reverend  John 
Thornton  Kirkland  (A.B.  1789),  who  had  been  six- 
teen years  pastur  of  the  New  South  Church  in  Boston, 
and  who  in  a  singular  degree  had  the  confidence  and 
affection  of  the  most  influential  men  of  Boston  in  his 
day.  He  Avas  liberal  and  open-minded,  and  possessed 
of  an  urbanity  of  manner  that  has  left  traditions  to  our 
own  day.  He  was  fortunate  to  have  on  the  Corporation 
in  the  early  years  of  his  term  such  men  as  Theophilus 
Parsons  (A.B.  176!)),  John  Lowell  (A.B.  1786),  Wil- 
liam Ellery  Channing  (A.B.  1798),  William  Prescott 
(A.B.  178;j).  and  before  its  close  Joseph  Story  (A.B. 
1798),  Nathaniel  Bowditeh.  and  Francis  C.  Gray  (A.B. 
1809)  ;  men  who  were  admirable  examples  of  the  ability, 
cultivation,  and  public  spirit  which  gave  Boston  such 
distinction  all  through  tlie  first  two  thirds  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  They  were  all  strong  Unitarians,  and 
in  politics  convinced  Federalists.  Under  their  saga- 
cious guidance  the  College  entered  on  a  period  of  pros- 


LAW  AND  DIVINITY  SCHOOLS 


31 


perity  and  intolleetual  advance,  though  of  no  very  wide 
influence  on  the  eountry. 

During  President  Kirkland's  administration,  which 
lasted  until  1828,  the  College  fairly  became  a  univer- 
sity, for  the  Medical  School  was  organized  with  a 
separate  faculty  in  1816,  with  five  professors,  and  the 
Law  School  and  the  Divinity  School  were  created.  The 
Law  School  owed  its  origin  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Royall  Professorship  of  Law  in  1815,  under  the  will  of 
Isaac  Royall ;  and  the  Honorable  Isaac  Parker,  who  was 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts, 
was  elected  as  the  first  incumbent,  in  1816.  Under  the 
terms  of  the  foundation  he  gave  lectures  to  the  Seniors. 
The  next  year  the  Law  School  was  established,  with  a 
faculty  consisting  of  vVsahel  Stearns  as  University  Pro- 
fessor of  Law,  and  Judge  Parker. 

Although  one  of  the  earliest  objects  of  the  College 
had  been  to  train  up  •  inisters,  there  was  no  formally 
organized  theological  school  until  after  1815.  The  Hol- 
lis  Professorship  of  Divinity  was  founded  in  1721,  the 
Hancock  Professorship  of  Hebrew  in  1764,  and  the 
AH'ord  Professorship  of  Natural  Religion,  ]Moral  Philos- 
ophy, and  Civil  Polity  in  1789,  but  the  duties  of  all 
three  were  performed  in  Harvard  College.  In  1815  the 
Corporation  sent  out  an  appeal  to  the  friends  of  the 
Univorsity, — practically  to  the  Unitarian  body, — asking 
for  funds  to  increase  the  means  of  theological  educa- 
tion. The  sura  of  $27,300  was  raised,  and  a  Society  for 
Promoting  Theological  Education  in  Harvard  Univer- 
sity was  formed  to  administer  the  fund.  In  1819  the 
Ilollis  Professor  of  Divinity,  the  Hancock  Professor  nt 
Hebrew,  and  the  Alford  Professor  of  Natural  Religion, 
floral  Philosophy,  and  Civil  Polity,  with  the  Dexter 
Professor  of  Sacred  Literature,  were  organized  into  a 


32 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 


faculty  and  the  Divinity  School  came  into  being.  In 
182'4  Divinity  Hall  was  erected  for  its  use.  It  was  for 
many  yoai-s  wholly  and  frankly  a  Unitarian  seminary. 

During  the  same  period,  the  question  of  the  relations 
between  the  Corporation  and  the  teaching  force  was 
finally  settled.  In  1806,  when  Chief  Justice  Parsons 
was  elected  to  the  seat  on  the  Corporation  left  vacant 
by  the  resignation  of  Professor  Pearson,  the  Corporation 
for  the  first  time  contained  no  member  of  the  teaching 
force.  In  the  next  seventeen  years  nine  vacancies  on 
the  Corporation  were  filled,  but  none  of  them  by  the 
election  of  a  professor.  Thereupon,  when  another 
vacancy  occurred,  the  resident  instructors,  under  the 
lead  of  Professor  Andrews  Norton,  pressed  the  claim, 
first  on  the  Corporation  and  then  on  the  Overseers, 
that  the  word  Fellow  ought  to  mean  a  resident  officer 
of  the  College.  Neither  Corporation  nor  Overseers  ac- 
ceded to  this  view,  and  it  was  settled  for  all  time  that 
there  was  no  obligation  to  choose  members  of  the  Cor- 
poration from  among  the  resident  teachers. 

In  1820  an  attempt  was  made  to  open  membership 
in  the  Board  of  Overseers  to  ministers  of  any  Christian 
church.  The  proposal  was  approved  by  the  Corporation 
and  Overseers,  but  was  defeated  by  an  overwhelming 
majority  of  the  voters  of  the  State,  to  whom  it  had  to 
be  submitted  as  involving  an  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution. The  vote  reflected  the  very  strong  feeling  of 
the  orthodox  churches  against  the  Unitarian  movement. 

At  about  the  same  time,  a  good  deal  of  dissatisfaction 
showed  itself  concerning  the  state  of  the  College,  largely 
aroused  by  George  Ticknor,  who  was  elected  Smith 
Professor  of  French  and  Spanish  Languages  and  Lit- 
eratures in  1817.  He  was  abroad  at  the  time  of  his 
election,  and  he  stayed  in  Europe  for  three  years  more, 


CHANGES  IN  ORGANIZATION 


33 


equipping  himself  for  the  duties  of  his  charge.  When 
lie  came  back  he  brought  with  him  new  ideas  as  to  the 
possibilities  of  university  training.  What  the  state  of 
learning  in  the  country  was  at  the  time  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  in  1814,  before  he  went  abroad,  he 
could  find  no  German  dictionary  in  Boston,  and  German 
was  not  taught  at  Harvard  until  1825. 

Under  the  influence  of  Ticknor  the  Overseers  ap- 
pointed a  committee  of  seven,  with  Joseph  Story  as 
chairman,  which  studied  the  whole  question,  and  in  1824 
made  a  report,  recommending  radical  changes  in  the 
organization  of  the  College.  Many  of  the  recommenda- 
tions were  adopted.  Among  the  more  important  re- 
forms v'-re  the  organization  of  what  had  been  known 
as  the  "  Immediate  Government  "  into  the  "  Faculty 
of  the  University  ";  the  organization  of  the  Faculty 
into  departments,  each  with  its  profos.sor  and  sometimes 
an  assistant ;  the  classification  of  students  into  sections 
according  to  proficiency  in  their  subjects,  instead  of 
alphabetically;  the  admitting  of  special  students  to  in- 
struction; more  frequent  and  more  vigorous  examina- 
tions; the  abolition  of  fines,  and  the  substitution  of  a 
series  of  penalties,  leading  from  warning  to  expulsion. 
The  most  important  change  of  all  was  the  inauguration 
of  the  elective  system  by  allowing  students  to  exercise 
some  choice  in  regard  to  a  certain  portion  of  their 
studies.  Juniors  were  allowed  to  substitute  mathematics 
or  ancient  or  modern  languages  for  Hebrew,  and  modern 
languages  for  the  calculus.  Seniors  were  allowed  to 
substitute  natural  history  for  astronomy,  or  an  ancient 
or  modem  language  for  chemistry,  mineralogy,  and 
geology.  The  range  of  choice  was  not  large,  but  it  was 
a  beginning. 

An  incidental  result  of  the  report  of  this  committee 


i 


34        THE  IIISTOR\   OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 


was  the  institution  of  an  annual  President's  Report  in 
print.  The  heads  of  the  departments  reported  to  the 
President  on  the  amount  and  character  of  the  work 
which  was  done  in  their  departments,  and  this  infor- 
mation he  passed  on  in  print  to  the  Overseers.  Grad- 
ually the  practice  arose  that  he  should  make  some  com- 
ments on  the  state  of  the  University,  and  the  series  of 
Annual  Reports  by  the  President  became  in  President 
Eliot's  time  important  educational  documents.  The 
first  President's  Report  in  print  was  for  the  year 
1825-26. 

Some  of  these  changes  were  too  far  in  advance  of  the 
times,  and  in  particular  the  election  of  studies  was  to  be 
a  source  of  contention  for  two  decades,  and  then  nearly 
disappear;  but  while  Ticknor  continued  in  his  profes- 
sorship, until  1835,  he  was  a  strong  influence  for  liberal 
and  scholarly  ideas. 

In  1828  President  Kirkland  suffered  a  stroke  of  pa- 
ralysis, which  brought  to  an  end  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished presidencies  in  the  history  of  the  University. 
During  his  time  the  faculties  were  increased  by  five 
professorsliips,  and  Ilolworthy  Hall,  the  original  build- 
ing of  the  Medical  School,  Divinity  Hall,  and  University 
Hall  were  built.  The  great  achievements  of  his  ad- 
ministration, as  has  been  noted,  were  the  organization 
of  the  University,  which  he  left  with  four  distinct  facul- 
ties, and  the  great  elevation  of  standards  of  scholarship 
in  the  College. 

At  the  end  of  his  administration,  there  were  two 
hundred  and  fifty-five  students  in  Harvard  College; 
eighty-four  students  attending  the  medical  lectures;  six 
students  in  the  Law  School,  thirty-three  in  the  Divinity 
School,  and  six  resident  graduates.  The  investment  of 
the  University  amounted  to  $381,682.57. 


QUINCY'S  ADMINISTRATION 


35 


To  succeed  him  the  Corporation  elected  in  January, 
]S2ft,  Josiali  Quincy  (A.R.  17JH)).  He  served  until  1845! 
In  his  time  the  University  prospered,  and  the  number 
of  students  gradually  increased.  In  1836,  at  the  time 
of  the  two-hundredth  anniversary  of  the  College,  there 
were  two  hundred  and  thirty-three  students;  fifteen 
years  later  the  number  had  increased  to  four  hundred 
and  forty -eight.  At  the  end  of  Quincy's  administration 
there  were  nineteen  professors.  During  his  time.  Pro- 
fessor Ticknor,— even  after  he  resigned  his  professor- 
ship, in  1835,— and  William  II.  Pre.scott  (A.B.  1814), 
the  historian,  were  strong  influences  for  a  liberal  and 
scholarly  policy  in  the  College;  and  their  views  were 
reinforced  by  Edward  Everett  (A.B.  1811),  ({eorge 
Bancroft  (AM.  1817).  and  Frederic  Henry  Hodge  (A.B. 
1S25).  who  were  among  the  first  Americans  to  study 
at  German  universities,  and  who  brought  back  with 
them  ideas  of  scholarship  that  could  not  be  satisfied  by 
the  prevailing  system  of  recitations.  Through  such 
influences,  the  reaction  from  the  liberal  reforms  of  1826 
was  retarded ;  and  as  late  as  1844-45  only  the  work  of 
the  Freshman  year  was  wholly  prescribed,  and  in  the 
upper  classes  the  studies  were  largely  elective. 

During  President  Quincy's  time  four  new  professor- 
ships were  founded;  Gore  Hall,  which  has  ju.st  been 
taken  down  to  make  place  for  the  Widener  Memorial 
Library,  was  built  in  1840  out  of  the  great  unrestricted 
bequest  of  Governor  Gore ;  and  Dane  Ilall  was  built  in 
1829  for  the  Law  School.  In  1840  President  Quincy 
wrote  the  Ilistory  of  Uarvard  Univcrsitij,  in  two 
volumes,  which  has  not  yet  been  superseded. 

At  the  end  of  Quincy 's  administration  there  were  two 
liundred  and  forty-nine  students  in  Harvard  College, 
Bine  resident  graduates,  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine 


36        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

medical  students,  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  students 
in  the  Law  School,  and  thirty-eight  students  in  the 
Divinity  School.  The  investments  of  the  University 
had  reached  the  sum  of  $706,615.24. 

"When  Quincy  resigned,  in  1845,  he  was  succeeded  for 
the  three  years  from  1846  to  1849  by  Edward  Everett, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  time.  He 
had  been  minister  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church  in  Bos- 
ton before  he  was  twenty;  he  was  elected  Professor  of 
Greek  Lit  rature  at  twenty-one,  and  spent  fi\  years 
in  Europe  preparing  himself  for  the  work,  taking  the 
Ph.D.  at  Gcittingen  in  1817.  On  his  return,  he  became 
editor  of  the  h'orth  American  Review;  in  1825  he  was 
elected  to  Congress,  and  served  in  Washington  until 
his  election  as  Governor  of  Massachusetts  in  1835 ;  and 
in  1841  he  went  to  London  as  Minister  of  the  United 
States.  When  he  was  elected  President  of  Harvard 
College,  in  1846,  therefore,  he  entered  office  with  as 
many  and  as  varied  distinctions  as  were  open  to  a  man 
of  his  period.  The  choice,  however,  was  unfortunate. 
The  presidency  was  at  that  time  cumbered  with  a  multi- 
tude of  petty  duties  relating  to  discipline  and  the  care 
of  the  college  property;  and  after  three  years  Mr. 
Everett  resigned  in  disgust,  and  was  soon  drawn  into 
public  life  again. 

Nevertheless,  his  short  presidency  left  its  traces  on 
the  University.  For  one  thing,  the  Lawrence  Scientific 
School  was  founded,  and  with  Louis  Agassiz  as  the  first 
Professor  of  Zoiilogy  and  Geology,  Eben  Norton  Hors- 
ford  as  Rumford  Professor  of  the  Application  of  Science 
to  the  Useful  Arts,  and,  in  1849,  Henry  Lawrence  Eustis 
as  Professor  of  Engineering,— entered  on  a  career  which 
was  at  first  of  extraordinary  brilliancy.    It  was  planned 


SPARKS 'S  ADMINISTRATION 


37 


to  be  what  would  now  be  called  a  graduate  school,  though 
in  execution  the  instruction  was  limited  to  science  and 
mathematics;  but  the  genius  of  Agassiz  as  teacher  and 
creator  of  faith  in  his  subject  had  a  profound  influence 
on  scholarship. 

At  the  end  of  President  Everett's  term,  the  number 
of  students  in  Harvard  College  had  risen  to  two  hundred 
and  seventy-three;  there  were  six  resident  graduates, 
one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  medical  students,  one  hun- 
dred and  throe  students  in  the  Law  School,  nineteen 
in  the  Divinity  School,  and  sixteen  in  the  Lawrence 
Scientific  School.  The  investments  of  the  University 
amounted  to  $771,206.16. 

To  succeed  Everett  the  Corporation,  in  1849,  elected 
Jared  Sparks  (A.B.  1815),  who  since  1838  had  been 
McLean  Professor  of  Ancient  and  Modern  History. 
He  was  a  historian  and  biographer  of  conservative  in- 
clinations, and  averse  to  freedom  of  election  of  studies 
by  students.  His  idea  of  a  curriculum  was  a  series  of 
strictly  prescribed  subjects,  taught  by  recitations,  varied 
by  occasional  lectures.  In  his  time  the  right  of  election 
was  taken  away  from  Sophomores,  and  somewhat  re- 
duced for  Juniors  and  Seniors.  The  difficulty  of  en- 
forcing a  prescribed  system  with  the  increased  number 
of  subjects  for  which  already  there  were  professors  is 
manifest  from  the  fact  that  no  Junior  or  Senior  could 
take  more  than  one  language  as  a  regular  study;  if  he 
wanted  to  take  both  Latin  and  Greek,  he  had  to  take  one 
of  them  as  an  extra. 

The  constitution  of  the  Board  of  Overseers  was  a  se- 
rious question  at  this  time.  As  it  stood,  it  was  unwieldy, 
and  was  in  danger  of  boing  mixed  up  with  polities.  In 
1851,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  General  Court  which 
made  the  board  to  consist  of  the  Governor,  the  Lieuten- 


i\ 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  TXIVERSITY 


ant-Govornnr,  the  Prosi'lcnt  of  the  Senate,  the  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Reprosfiitatives,  the  Secretary  of  the 
IJoard  of  Education,  the  President  and  Treasurer  of 
Harvard  CoUoffe.  and  thirty  persons  to  be  elected  by 
the  General  Court.  This  act,  being  accepted  by  the 
Corporation  and  Board  of  Overseers,  stood  until  1865, 

In  18r)2-r);{.  the  last  year  of  President  Sparks's  admin- 
istration, the  number  of  students  was  as  follows:  In 
Harvard  Collepe.  throe  hundred  and  twenty;  resident 
prailuates.  fourteen ;  attending  the  medical  lectures,  one 
hundred  and  twenty  .ven;  in  the  Law  School,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-four;  in  the  Divinity  School, 
twenty;  in  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School,  forty-seven. 
The  invested  funds  of  the  University  amounted  in  1853 
to  $899,888.07. 

President  Sparks  was  succeeded  in  1853  by  the  Rev- 
erend James  Walker  (A.B.  1814),  who  had  been  a  Fel- 
low since  1834,  and  Alford  Professor  of  Natural  Re- 
ligion. Moral  Philosophy,  and  Civil  Polity  since  1838. 
He  too  was  conservative  in  his  ideas.  His  chief  interest 
was  in  perfecting  the  system  of  recitations,  especially 
in  reducing  the  size  of  the  sections  into  which  the  classes 
were  divided.  This  was  made  possible  by  a  new  tabular 
view  which  was  worked  out  by  Charles  W.  Eliot,  then 
an  instructor  in  mathematics.  By  skillful  arrangement 
he  produced  a  scheme  by  which  the  number  of  sections, 
and  therefore  the  number  of  recitations  on  the  same 
lesson,  was  increased  for  each  member  of  the  Faculty. 
The  closer  attention  which  resulted  to  the  individual 
student  resulted  in  some  raising  of  the  standards  of 
scholarship. 

Even  then,  however,  and  for  some  years  later  the 
e.vaminations  were  diietly  oral,  before  committees  ap- 
pointed  by   the  Overseers;  and  the  catalogues  of  the 


MUSEUM  OF  COMPARATIVE  ZOOLOGY     39 

time  declare  tliat  they  niiyht  liav.-  an  ctrcct  on  the 
continuance  of  the  student  in  collcf,'!'  only  "  in  some 
cases."  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  unusual  for  a 
student,  after  the  Freshman  year  at  any  rate,  to  be 
s(  nt  away  on  account  of  deficiency  in  scholarship. 

The  most  important  addition  to  the  University  in 
President  Walker's  time  was  the  Museum  of  Compara- 
tive Zoology,  which  was  begun  in  1851),  partly  through 
the  bequest  of  $50,000  of  Francis  C.  Gray  for  endow- 
ment, partly  through  an  appropriation  of  $100,000  by 
the  Legislature,  also  for  endowment,  and  on  condition 
that  a  sum  sufficient  for  a  building  be  raised  by  sub- 
scription. The  sum  of  $71,000  was  so  raised,  and  one 
end  of  the  present  University  Museum  was  erected.  The 
collections  which  had  already  been  brought  together  by 
Professor  Louis  Agassiz  filled  a  considerable  part  of 
the  building. 

Besides  the  beginning  of  the  Museum  there  were  also 
built  during  President  Walker's  time  Appleton  Chapel, 
the  old  gymnasium  (at  present  the  temporary  home  of 
the  Germanic  Museum),  and  the  President's  house  at  17 
Quincy  Street,  which  was  torn  down  in  191.3. 

Tn  1859-60,  the  last  year  of  President  Walker's  ad- 
ministration, the  number  of  students  was  as  follows: 
In  Harvard  College,  four  hundred  and  thirty-one;  resi- 
dent graduates,  fifteen;  attending  the  medical  lectures, 
one  hundred  and  forty;  in  the  Law  School,  one  hundred 
and  sixty-six;  in  the  Divinity  School,  twenty-one;  in 
the  Lawrence  Scientific  School,  seventy-five.  The  total 
investments  of  the  University  had  risen  at  this  time  to 
$1,145,647.20. 

When  in  1860  President  Walker  resigned,  the  Cor- 
poration elected  to  succeed  him  Cornelius  Conway 
Felton  (A.B.  1827),  who  had  been  Eliot  Professor  of 


-     1:1 


40       THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  I'NIVERSITV 

Greek  Litoraturo  siupc  IB.'U.  HLs  ttTin  was  so  short,  for 
he  died  just  two  years  after  liis  clivtion,  that  he  left 
little  mark  on  the  policies  of  the  Tniversity.  Though 
the  Civil  War  broke  out  iu  liis  time,  it  did  not  affect 
the  University  so  much  as  iiiipht  have  been  expected. 
The  number  of  students  in  Harvard  Cnlletre  was  al- 
most exactly  the  same  in  lh(il  (i2  that  it  had  boon  the 
year  before,  and  in  the  next  two  years  it  fell  off  at  the 
rate  of  only  ten  each  year.  The  invested  funds  of  the 
University  increased  in  the  two  years  of  President  Fel- 
ton's  term  to  $1,613,884.11. 

With  the  election  of  President  Tlionias  Hill  ( A.B. 
1843)  to  the  presidency  in  18C2  came  the  dawning  of 
a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  University.  For  the 
twenty  years  preceding,  the  policy  of  Harvard  CoUeg.' 
had  been  back  towards  a  system  of  strictly  prescribed 
studies  and  recitations.  The  scheme  of  instruction  just 
before  his  time  is  set  forth  in  the  Catalogue  of  1861-62, 
as  follows: — 


All  the  studies  of  the  Freshman  and  Sophomore 
years  are  required,  except  that  French  when  taken  by 
the  Sophomores  is  taken  as  an  extra.  In  the  Junior 
year  Mathematics,  Chemistry,  German,  French  and 
Spanish  are  elective  studies,  and  in  the  Senior  year 
Latin,  Greek,  and  Italian  arc  added  to  these  electives; 
the  rest  are  required. 

In  the  last  two  years  of  the  College  course  each 
student  must  take  one  of  the  electives  assigned  to  his 
Class;  he  is  also  allowed  to  take  another  as  an  extra. 
The  elective  study,  when  chosen,  becomes  a  required 
study  for  that  year  for  those  who  choose  it,  and  credit 
is  given  for  it  on  the  scale  of  rank,  as  in  the  ease  of 
required  studies;  but  no  credit  is  given  for  extra 
studies. 


Tin:  (:vRnuTU'y\  analyzed 


41 


The  required  studios  for  -Iiiniors  ut  this  tinic  woro. 
four  hours  eaeh  week  of  Latin,  three  hours  of  Greek,  with 
oiii-  lecture  a  week  on  Greek  literature,  two  hours  of 
chemistry,  three  hours  of  physies,  two  liours  of  themes, 
and  one  hour  of  declamation.  For  Seniors  the  required 
woi ;:  was  four  hours  of  history,  four  hours  of  philosophy, 
two  hours  of  ethics  (in  the  second  term  political  econ- 
omy), one  hour  of  physics,  and  one  hour  of  forensics. 
The  electives  seem  to  have  called  for  three  hours  a  week 
of  recitation,  except  the  lectures  in  natural  history, 
which  occupied  one  hour  a  week. 

To  us  to-day  the  most  striking  thing  ahout  the  cur- 
riculum of  the  College  in  those  days  was  the  very  small 
amount  of  ground  which  could  be  covered  even  by  an 
eager  undergraduate.  In  Greek  for  example,  the  total 
reading  for  the  four  years,  including  the  Senior  elective, 
was  three  books  of  the  Iliad,  the  Pancgyricus  of  Isocrates, 
.some  Lysias,  Thucydides,  and  Demosthenes,  the  Apology, 
Crito,  and  Republic  of  Plato,  the  Clouds  and  the  Birds 
of  Aristophanes,  and  one  tragedy,  the  Seven  against 
Thebes,  of  ^schylus.  The  reading  varied  from  year  to 
year,  and  there  was  instruction  in  Greek  composition, 
hut  so  far  as  the  Catalogue  shows,  no  undergraduate  had 
a  chance  for  wider  range  of  reading  than  is  represented 
in  this  list.  In  mathematics  the  four  years'  course,  in- 
cluding the  electives,  consisted  of  geometry,  algebra, 
logarithms,  and  plane  trigonometry  for  Freshmen; 
spherical  trigonometry,  analytic  geometry,  and  algebra 
for  Sophomores;  algebra,  and  curves  and  functions  for 
Juniors  and  Seniors.  Instniction  in  history,  all  pre- 
scribed, was  confined  to  Liddell's  History  of  Rome  for 
Freshmen,  and  for  Seniors  Stephens's  Lectures  on  the 
History  of  Prance,  Guizot's  History  of  Civilizaiion  in 
Europe,  and  the  constitutional  history  of  England  and 


N' 


3, 


^1 


42        THE  HISTORY  OP  THE  UaiVERSITY 

tlie  United  States.  In  fhcmistry  Sophomores  recited 
from  Stiiekhardt 's  rn)iciplc.<!  of  Chemist nj,  and  Juniors, 
as  an  elective,  from  Galloway '.s  Analytical  Chemistry; 
but  l)y  this  time  the  latter  course  was  accompanied  by  ex- 
ercises in  the  laboratory.  The  Juniors  could  also  study 
as  an  elective  Dana's  Manual  of  Mineralogy.  In  physics 
the  Juniors  had  recitations  in  Ilersehers  Outlines  of 
Astronomy,  and  Lardncr's  Course  of  Natural  Philosophy, 
and  lectures  in  mechanics  and  optics.  The  Seniors  had 
lectures  in  mechanics  and  optics.  All  the  physics  was 
prescribed.  In  modern  languages  Juniors  had  a  chance 
to  read  in  elective  courses  Goethe's  Clavigo,  and  Lessing's 
Emilia  Galofti:  in  French,  Moliere;  in  Spanish,  Don 
Quixote,  and  two  plays  of  Calderon ;  in  Italian,  Dante, 
the  latter  with  James  Russell  Lowell.  The  names  of  no 
other  masterpieces  appear  in  the  Catalogue.  In  the 
biological  sciences  the  Sophomores  liad  a  half-year  of 
recitation  in  Gray's  Botanical  Textbook,  and  the  Seniors 
had  elective  courses  of  lectures  in  botany,  geology, 
anatomy,  and  zoology-,  each  course  consisting  of  one 
lecture  a  week  for  a  half-year.  There  was  no  laboratory 
work  in  these  subjects  for  students  in  the  College. 

Almost  all  the  instruction,  it  will  be  noticed,  was  car- 
ried on  by  recitations.  Laboratory  work  in  the  scien- 
tific courses  of  the  College  was  barely  beginning,  though 
in  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School  attendance  was  re- 
rpiired  in  the  chemical  laboratory,  and  Professor  Louis 
Agassiz  in  zoiilogy  and  Professor  Asa  Gray  in  botany 
were  giving  their  students  "  i)ractical  instruction  "  in 
their  laboratories,  and  the  former  was  taking  his  classes 
in  geology  on  excui-^ions  in  the  neighborhood.  As  has 
been  said.  President  Walker  had  been  anxious  that  the 
system  of  recitations  s'lould  be  perfected,  and  instruc- 
tion was  confined  to  them. 


HILli'S  ADMINISTRATION 


43 


The  tabular  view  was  most  carefully  worked  out  to 
distribute  evenly  the  demands  on  oaeh  student's  time; 
each  student  had  a  recitation  early  in  the  morning,  an- 
other just  before  luncheon,  and  a  third  late  in  the  after- 
noon. In  1861-62  prayers  were  at  a  quarter  before 
seven,  and  recitations  ran  from  eight  o'clock  to  one,  and 
from  four  to  six  in  the  afternoon.  After  Thanksgiving 
prayers  were  at  a  quarter  before  eight,  and  the  morning 
recitations  were  all  an  hour  later  than  in  the  r.ut^imn. 

With  President  Hill's  accession  more  liberal  influences 
were  to  affect  the  instruction  in  the  College,  and  in  par- 
ticular, stronger  and  more  definite  aspirations  towards 
higher  scholarly  standards.  Louis  Agassiz  and  Benjamin 
Pierce,  the  mathematician,  had  great  influence  with  him, 
and  the  efforts  of  Professor  W.  W.  Goodwin  (A.B.  1846), 
seconded  by  those  of  Professor  E.  W.  Gurnoy  (A.B. 
1852)  and  Profess  James  Mills  Peirce  (A.B.  18.').']), 
did  much  to  raise  the  standards  of  scholarship  and  widen 
the  possibilities  of  study.  By  thv  end  of  President  Hill 's 
term — he  resigned  in  1868 — the  elective  system  had  re- 
covered all  the  ground  it  had  lost.  In  1867-68  only  the 
studies  of  the  Freshmen  year  were  wholly  required. 
Sophomores  had  seven  hours  a  week  of  required  studies, 
and  two  elective  studies  to  be  chosen  out  of  Greek,  Latin, 
pure  mathematics,  and  applied  mathematics.  For 
Juniors  there  were  required  two  hours  a  week  of  philoso- 
phy and  three  hours  a  week  of  physics.  From  the  elective 
subjects — Greek,  Latin,  ancient  history  (in  Greek  text- 
books), mathemntics,  chemistry,  naturai  history,  the 
English  language,  and  German— lie  could  "  choose  (Inrr 
or  tivo  (at  his  pleasure)."  For  the  Seniors  the  required 
work  was  five  hours  a  week  in  history,  philosophy,  and 
ethics,  with  three  or  two  elect ives  of  three  exerci.ses  a 
week   each,    chosen    from    Greek,    Latin,    mathematics, 


Hi 


S'Sx 


m 


HI 


"II 


44        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

physics,  chemical  physics,  history,  philosophy,  and  mod- 
ern languages  (French,  German,  Italian,  and  Spanish). 

Quite  as  striking  as  the  increased  freedom  was  the  in- 
creased range  of  the  studies  open  to  undergraduates.  In 
Greek  the  reading  of  Freshmen  included  Xenophon's 
Memorabilia,  the  Odyssey,  and  Arrian  's  Anabasis.  Soph- 
omores might  read  the  Prometheus  of  ^sehylus,  the  birds 
of  Aristophanes,  with  some  Demosthenes  and  Lysias; 
Juniors,  iEschines  and  Demosthenes  On  the  Crown,  the 
Electra  of  Sophocles,  and  some  Plato;  Seniors  the 
Agamemnon  of  ^schylus,  the  Antigone  of  Sophocles,  and 
Thucydides.  In  modern  languages  Freshmen  read 
Moliere  and  Racine,  and  Seniors  got  to  Wilhelm  Tell  and 
Faust.  In  the  Junior  year  there  was  an  elective  on  the 
English  language  which  included  Anglo-Saxon,  early 
English,  the  Bible,  Spenser,  Shakespeare. 

Another  development  of  this  time,  which  showed  the 
aroused  ambitions  of  faculties,  was  the  enterprise  of 
University  Lectures,  which  it  was  hoped  would  open 
the  way  to  the  same  sort  of  advanced  scholarship  as  was 
to  be  found  at  the  German  universities.  These  lectures 
were  usually  given  in  short  courses,  either  by  professors 
of  the  University,  or  by  other  scholars,  and  were  in- 
tended to  create  and  advance  interest  in  their  subject. 
Most  of  the  courses  which  were  given  dealt  with  various 
subjects  in  science.  They  did  not  make  sufficient  pro- 
vision for  continued  and  thorough  work  on  the  part  of 
anyone  except  the  lecturer,  however,  and  on  the  other 
hand,  though  the  lectures  were  of  a  rather  popular 
character,  they  did  not  draw  the  general  public. 

In  1865  came  the  final  severance  of  the  last  formal 
ties  between  the  University  and  the  state.  By  an  act 
passed  in  that  year  the  Board  of  Overseers  was  made  to 
consist  of  thirty  members,  all  of  whom  were  to  be  elected 


ClIAKI.KS    \V.    Kl,I(»T 


President,  18C9-1909 


ELECTION  OF  OVERSEERS 


45 


by  the  graduates  of  the  College,  From  this  time  on  the 
control  of  the  University  has  been  wholly  in  the  hands 
of  the  graduates  through  their  right  to  elect  the  Over- 
seers, who  in  turn  have  the  right  of  confirmation  of  all 
elections  to  the  Corporation  and  the  supervision  of  all 
acts  of  the  Corporation.  In  1880  seats  on  the  Board 
of  Overseers  were  opened  to  non-residents  of  the  State  of 
Massachusetts,  and  in  1902  the  Legislature  put  wholly 
in  the  hands  of  the  Corporation  and  Overseers  the  regu- 
lation of  the  franchise  for  choice  of  the  latter. 

The  University  grew,  though  for  the  most  part  slowly, 
during  President  Hill's  time.  In  1867-68  there  were 
four  hundred  and  seventy-nine  students  in  Harvard 
College,  fourteen  resident  graduates,  three  hundred  and 
thirty  students  in  the  Medical  School,  one  hundred  and 
fifty-six  in  the  Law  School,  twenty-three  in  the  Divinity 
School,  and  forty-nine  in  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School. 
The  total  investments  of  the  University  amounted  in 
1868  to  $2,178,782.31.  Harvard  College  Library  had 
112,500  books,  and  the  total  resources  of  all  the  libraries 
of  the  University  amounted  to  168,000. 

Harvard  University,  as  we  know  it  to-day,  is  practi- 
cally the  creation  of  the  administration  of  President 
Eliot,  the  longest  since  the  foundation  of  the  College.  At 
the  beginning  of  his  forty  years'  term,  Harvard  was,  as 
Mr.  James  Bryce  is  said  to  have  told  President  Eliot  at 
the  time,  "  no  real  university,  but  only  a  struggling 
college,  with  uncertain  relations  to  learning  and  re- 
search, loosely  tied  to  a  congeries  of  professional 
schools."*  At  the  end  of  the  period,  chiefly  through 
forces  set  at  work  in  its  earlier  years,  Harvard  had 
become  a  real  university  of  a  new  type,  firmly  organized, 
'  narvard  Graduates'  Magazine,  vol.  xvii,  p.  376. 


I 


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w. 

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46       THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

vigorous,  and  offerinrr  instruction  in  almost  all  fields  of 
human  knowledge.  How  great  was  the  transformation 
in  these  forty  years  can  best  be  made  clear  by  a  brief 
review  of  the  state  of  the  University  in  1869. 

The  College  had  made  a  beginning,  but  no  more  than 
a    beginning,   in    breaking   free    from    the   deadening 
routine  of  elementary  instruction  in  a  few  subjects  pre- 
scribed  for  all  students.    The  elective  system,  with  which 
some  experiment  had  been  made  in  the  days  of  President 
Quincy.  hut  which  had  gradually  languished  and  died, 
was  revived  in  1865,  under  President  Hill;  and  in  1867 
almost  half  the  work  of  the  three  upper  classes  was 
elective.    But  the  Faculty  had  only  twenty-three  mem- 
bers,  the  elective  courses  were  strictly  separated  ac- 
cording to  college  classes,  and  there  were  only  eight  for 
the  Sophomore  class,  eleven  for  the  Junior  class,  and 
fourteen  or  fifteen  for  the  Senior  class.    There  were  five 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  undergraduates  and  five  resi- 
dent graduates.    Except  for  some  advanced  work  in  the 
Lawrence  Scientific  School  and  in  the  Museum  of  Com- 
parative Zoology,  there  was  no  chance  for  any  study 
beyond  the  very  moderate  requirements  for  the  AB 
degree.    In  Greek,  for  example,  in  1868-69,  the  elective 
work  for  Sophomores  consisted  of  the  Apology  and  Crito 
of  Plato,  the  Alcestis  of  Euripides,  and  half  the  first  book 
of  Herodotus;  for  the  Juniors  three  books  of  Polybius 
with  Professor  Sophocles,  or  .Eschines  and  Demosthenes 
On  the  Crown  with  a  tutor  (Professor  Goodwin  was  away 
that  year) ;  and  in  the  Senior  year  either  the  Apology 
and  Cnto  of  Plato,  or  the  Antigone,  the  Alcestis,  and 
some  Thucydidcs.    Beyond  this  there  was  no  chance  for 
study:  the  instruction  offered  was  exhausted. 

The  Department  of  Chemistry  consisted  of  Professor 
J.  P.  Cooke  and  a  tutor:  ard  the  instruction,  beyond  the 


THE  UNIVERSITY  IN  1869 


i»f| 


47 


roquired  lectures  and  recitatiouc  of  the  Freshman  and 
Sophomore  years,  was  confined  to  an  elective  for  Juniors 
in  "  practical  chemistry,"  with  lectures  and  six  hours 
of  laboratory  work,  and  one  for  Seniors  in  crystal- 
lography for  the  first  term,  and  in  blowpipe  analysis 
and  in  mineralogy  for  the  second  term. 

The  entry  in  the  President's  Report  for  the  Depart- 
ment of  History  is  as  follows : — 

In  this  Department  instruction  was  given  to  the 
whole  Senior  Class  by  Professor  Torrey  and  Professor 
Gurney;  the  textbooks  used  being  the  Abridgment  of 
Story's  Commentaries  on  the  Constitution,  Guizot's 
Civilization  in  Europe,  Arnold's  Lectures,  and  Hallam's 
Middle  Ages.  An  elective  class  read  with  Professor 
Torrey  May's  Constitutiottal  Uistory  and  Mill  on 
Representative  Government.  A  special  examination 
was  held  of  students  who  had  offered  themselves  as 
candidates  for  Honors  after  having  pursued  an  addi- 
tional course  of  study. 

The  Sophomore  Class  recited  to  Professor  Gumey  in 
The  Student's  Gibbon  during  the  First  Term. 

The  Freshman  Class  recited  to  Mr.  Lewis,  in  the 
Second  Term,  in  Duruy's  Histoire  Grecque. 


1^ 


H 


I 


ill 


These  examples  will  serve  to  show  the  narrow  limits 
and  the  low  level  of  instruction  in  the  College  when 
President  Eliot  was  elected. 

The  professional  schools  were  in  no  better  way.  The 
Divinity  School  required  for  admission  "  a  knowledge 
of  the  branches  of  education  commonly  taught  in  the 
best  academies  and  high  schools, ' '  but  it  did  not  require 
Latin  and  Greek.    Down  to  1870  it  gave  no  degree. 

In  the  Law  School  (which  had  fallen  off  both  in  num- 
bers and  in  standards  after  the  death  of  Judge  Story  in 
1845),  to  quote  Professor  Langdell,  "  Students  were 


48       THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

admitted  to  the  School  without  any  evidence  of 
academic  acquirements,  and  they  were  sent  from  it,  with 
a  degree,  without  any  evidence  of  legal  acquirements."  ^ 
In  other  words,  only  a  testimonial  of  moral  character 
was  required  for  admission,  and  after  three  terms  in  the 
School  a  student  received  the  degree  on  recommendation 
of  the  Faculty,  but  without  examination. 

The  ^Medical  School  was  very  loosely  attached  to  the 
University.    Its  income,  except  about  $3000  a  year  from 
invested  funds,  was  not  in  the  hands  of  the  Treasurer 
of  the  University ;  and  the  fees  were  collected,  and  the 
income  expended  by  the  "  Executive  Faculty,"  which 
consisted  of  nine  professors  and  two  adjunct  professors. 
The  School  was  in  effect  a  "  proprietary  school,"  in  the 
sense  that  it  was  strictly  under  the  control  of  its  teach- 
ers, who  determined  its  destinies  without  consultation 
with  any  other  body.    They  made  no  money  out  of  it, 
for  their  ambitions  for  advancing  their  subject  were 
high.     The  only  requirements  for  the  degree  of  M.D. 
from  the  school  were  attendance  at  two  courses  of  lec- 
tures, sixteen  weeks  long,  only  one  of  which  had  to  be  at 
the  School,  a  certificate  from  some  medical  school  or 
medical  practitioner  that  the  candidate   had  studied 
medicine  three  years,  a  dissertation  on  a  medical  subject 
and  the  passing  of  five  out  of  nine  examinations,  each  of 
which  was  oral  and  only  ten  minutes  long.^    The  instruc 
tion  offered  consisted  of  a  course  of  lectures  covering 
sixteen  weeks  in  winter,  a  spring  term  of  twelve  weeks, 
a  summer  term  of  four  weeks,  an.l  a  fall  term  of  eight 
weeks.    A  large  majority  of  the  students  attended  only 
the  winter  course  of  lectures,  and  presented  certificates 

•  Harvard  Graduatrs'  Magazine,  vol.  ii    p    404 
^^^  W.  L.  Riehar.lson,  in  Harvard  Graduates'  Magn::ine.  vol.  ii.  p. 


PRESIDENT  ELIOT 


49 


from  physicians  to  cover  the  rest  of  the  work.  The  in- 
struction was  given  mainly  in  recitations,  with  a  few 
lectures.  Apart  from  dissection  in  March  and  April 
there  seems  to  have  been  nothing  of  the  nature  of  labora- 
tory work. 

In  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School  most  of  the  students 
were  registered  in  engineering  and  chemistry,  with  a  few 
in  zoology  and  chemistry.  The  Museum  of  Comparative 
Zoology  was  still  in  the  hands  of  an  independent  board 
of  trustees,  as  was  also  the  School  of  Mining  and  Prac- 
tical Geology,  on  the  foimdation  created  by  Samuel 
Hooper.  It  was  provided  that  students  in  engineering 
might  pursue  any  studies  except  chemistry,  and  vice 
versa  for  students  of  chemistry.  The  requirements  for 
admission  were  eighteen  years  of  age  and  "a  good  com- 
mon English  education." 

The  Dental  School  was  still  struggling  for  existence, 
its  instructors  then,  as  ever  since,  making  great  sacrifices 
to  support  it,  and  having  complete  management  of  such 
financial  interests  as  it  had.  The  Bussey  Institution  had 
not  yet  been  organized,  though  the  funds  had  just  come 
into  the  hands  of  tlie  Corporation. 

There  was  no  agreement  as  to  the  academic  year,  and 
there  were  four  different  arrangements  of  term  time  and 
vacation  in  different  departments. 

At  this  time  began  the  rapid  concentration  of  these 
scattered  materials  for  a  university  into  a  vigorous, 
united  body  with  constantly  growing  strength  and  am- 
bitions of  service. 

The  new  President  had  already  maturely  considered 
the  problems  involved  in  making  higher  education  in 
America  equal  to  meeting  the  enormous  advances  in 
knowledge  made  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury.    He  had  recently  spent  two  years  in  Europe, 


50 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 


chiefly  in  Germany,  there  not  only  studying  chemistry, 
liis  own  subject,  but  closely  observing  European  sys- 
tems of  education.  A  few  months  before  his  election  he 
had  written  some  articles  for  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  in 
which  he  set  forth  the  principles  of  the  "  Now  Educa- 
tion  "  of  which  the  American  university,  which  should 
be  "  not  a  copy  of  foreign  institutions,  but  the  slow  and 
natural  outgrowth  of  American  social  and  political 
hal)it."  was  to  be  the  pinnacle.  He  was  only  thirty- 
five  years  old  when  he  assumed  the  office,  and  no  other 
member  of  the  Corporation  was  under  sixty;  but  they 
had  selected  him  after  mature  consideration,  and  had 
persisted  in  their  choice  in  the  face  of  a  first  and  second 
rejection  by  the  Overseers. 

Fortunately  for  his  far-seeing  plans  new  sources  of 
revenue  were  made  available  for  the  College  at  the  very 
beginning  of  his  administration.  An  increa.se  of  the 
tuition  fee  from  $100  to  .$150,  which  took  effect  in 
1869-70.  added  $28,000  of  fresh  income,  and  the  com- 
pletion of  Thayer  Hall,  built  by  xXathaniel  Thayer,  a 
member  of  the  Corporation,  added  $10,000  more.  The 
first  installment  of  the  Cla.ss  Subscription  Fund,  amount- 
ing to  $50,000,  was  paid  in  to  the  Treasurer  in  1870. 

With  these  new  resources  five  new  professorships  in 
the  College  were  established,  in  mathematics,  history,  en- 
tomology,  Latin  language  and  literature,  and  modem 
languages,  besides  a  professorship  of  paleontology  in  the 
Scientific  School,  and  the  Bussey  Professorship  of  Di- 
vinity,  the  funds  for  which  had  just  become  available. 
The  chief  developments  in  the  University  under  Presi- 
dent  Eliot's  guidance  may  be  considered  under  five 
heads :  ( 1 )  The  expansion  of  instruction  in  the  College ; 
(2)  The  raising  and  broadening  of  the  rpquirements 
f or  admissiuu  J  (3)  The  growing  maturity  of  college  life  j 


1 1 


EXPAXSIOM  OF  ELECTIVE  SYSTEM        'A 

(4)  The  dev(  lopmont  of  instruction  for  Rraduate  stu- 
dents, with  its  necessary  couscqucnco,  the  ••dvancenient 
of  knowledge ;  and  (5)  The  raising  of  professional  train- 
ing in  medicine,  law,  engineering,  and  tinally  in  busi- 
ness,  to  the  graduate  level. 

The  first  stcji  in  the  developnu^nt  of  Harvard  College 
was  the  appointment  of  a  dean  t.  take  charge  of  the  un- 
dergraduates, who  took  over  three  quarters  of  the  work 
which  had  been  done  by  tiie  President.  The  latter 
thus  had  his  time  free  '"or  the  oversight  of  the  whole 
I'niversity  and  the  study  <if  large  problems,  and  the  Col- 
lege was  certain  of  closer  administration.  The  .standing 
of  the  position  was  insured  by  the  appointment  of  Pro- 
fessor E.  W.  Gumey,  whose  judgment  and  wisdom  were 
later  recognized  by  his  election,  in  1884,  to  a  seat  in  the 
Corporation. 

The  expansion  of  the  elective  system  wont  on,  with 
the  addition  of  new  courses.  In  1872  it  was  provided 
that  students  who  by  examination  anticipated  any  of  the 
required  courses  could  take  elective  courses  in  their 
place.  Three  years  later  it  is  noted  in  the  President's 
Report  that  there  were  two  hundred  and  eighty  examina- 
tions for  anticipation  under  this  provision.  In  1873 
there  was  required  of  Seniors  only  certain  instruction 
in  composition,  of  Juniors  only  logic,  psychology,  and 
rhetoric.  In  the  same  year  consecutive  courses  were 
established  in  geology  and  in  zoology,  and  tli'  Depart- 
ment of  Fine  Arts  was  created  by  the  appointment  of 
Mr.  Charles  II.  Moore  as  instructor  in  drawing,  and  of 
Charles  Eliot  Norton  as  lecturer  on  the  history  of  the 
fine  arts  and  their  relation  to  literature.  The  next 
year  Mr.  Norton  was  elected  Professor  of  Fine  Arts, 
and  Mr.  J.  K.  Paine  Professor  of  Music.    In  the  same 


I- 

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52        THE  HISTORY  OB^  THE  INIVERSITY 

year  the  proscribed  stmlioa  liad  btMni  still  further  de- 
creased in  number  and  pushed  baek  towards  the  Fresh- 
man year.  President  J^iiot  notes  that  except  for  exer- 
cises in  writing  there  remained  in  the  Sophomore  and 
Junior  j'oars  only  "  bits  of  rhetoric,  historj-.  philosophy, 
and  political  economy."  In  the  same  year  advanced 
courses  were  added  in  Spanish,  political  economy,  ex- 
perimental physics,  music,  and  fine  arts,  and  courses  in 
the  philolopy  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages,  in 
diplomatic  history,  and  in  international  law.  The  reduc- 
tion of  prescribed  studies  went  on  until  in  1883-84  it 
was  voted  to  extend  the  elective  system  into  the  Freshman 
year,  with  the  prescription  of  French  or  German  for 
students  who  had  not  passed  both  at  entrance,  a  few  lec- 
tures in  physics  and  chemistry,  and  rhetoric  and 
composition.  In  1881-82  the  distinction  which  had 
been  maintained  between  graduate  and  undergraduate 
courses  was  given  up,  for  it  was  found  that  a  student 
who  had  entered  early  on  a  subject  easily  got  to  the 
advanced  courses  before  graduation;  and  on  the  other 
hand,  among  the  increasing  number  of  graduates  from 
other  colleges  there  were  many  who  wanted  and  needed 
to  enter  some  of  the  less  advanced  courses. 

In  the  meantime  the  Faculty  were  not  forgetting 
quality  of  work.  As  early  as  1872-73  the  passing  mark 
in  elective  courses  was  raised  from  33  to  40  per  cent. 
Furthermore,  it  was  voted  that  no  student  should  be 
recommended  for  the  degree  who  had  not  attained  an 
average  of  at  least  50  per  cent  in  all  his  studies. 

The  first  step  towards  granting  the  degree  of  A.B. 
for  less  than  four  years'  residence  appears  in  a  vote 
passed  by  the  Faculty  in  1881-82,  after  two  years  of 
discussion,  allowing  a  student  who  had  anticipated  a 
substantial  proportion  of  the  work  for  Freshmen  to 


SIIORTKMXd  OF  COIJ.KCJK  CorRSH        r.:{ 

coMiplctt'  tlic  rcquircmrnts  for  tlic  ilcfin.'   in  I.-ss  tliiin 
four  years   l»y   tjikiriK  (xfra   .M.ms.  s,      I'rcsidciit    Kliut 
was  convinced  that  sonic  such  sliortcninj,'  of  tlic  Collcpo 
nurse  was  necessary  to  save  the  hachelor's  (l<%'rc.'  from 
Im  injr  squeezed  out  hetwcen  a  h'ii>;tliened  and  improved 
hi^'h-school   course  and  the   increasiii)»  tliorouKliness  of 
professional  studies,  and  he  returned  a<,'ain  and  ajrain  to 
the  crusade  for  a  shorter  course.     In  ISDO'H  the  Faculty, 
al'ttr  a  lively  dehate.  voted  to  reduce  the  re(iuirciiient  for 
tlic  dejrrec  of  A.M.  from  eighteen  to  si.Ntcen  cours'.s,  and 
to  make  the  regular  term  of  residence  three  years.     The 
I)ropo.sal.  however,  was  not  approved  by  the  Ov(>rseers. 
In  the  meantime,  an  increasing  niunher  of  students  were 
}rraduating  in  three  years  by  anticipating  work  of  the 
Freshman  year  and  taking  extra  courses  in  College;  and 
there  was  consequently  .some  uncertainty  as  to  the  mean- 
ing of  the  degree.    In  1896  the  Faculty  again  voted  to 
adapt  the  re(|uireni'  iits  for  the  degree  to  a  three  years' 
residence,  but  the  majority  was  >o  narrow  that  the  vote 
was  not   presented   to  the   Hoanl  of  Overseers.     This 
ended  the  etl'ort  to  establish  a  three  years'  degree  on  a 
lower  requirement;  and  in  1901  the  Faculty,  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  Overseers,  inserted  in  the  Annunl  Cafnlofjue 
a  statement  that  the  requirement  in  courses  for  the  de- 
gree could  be  satisfied  in  four,  three  and  a  half,  or  three 
years. 


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,! 


'     . 


The  .second  of  the  great  advances  of  the  University  in 
l'r(>sident  Eliot's  time  was  the  raising  of  the  standard 
of  admission.  The  great  improvement  in  the  .standards 
of  study  and  education  in  the  College  rests  on  an  even 
greater  advance  in  the  standards  and  elTiciency  of  the 
secondary  schools  of  the  country,  and  a  good  portion  of 
iLis  laller  advance  may  be  fairly  ascribed  to  the  con- 


54        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

stant  interost  of  President  Eliot  in  all  educational  ques- 
tions, and  to  the  gradual  i-aising  and  improvement  of 
the  requirements  for  admission  to  Harvard,  which  led 
the  way  for  a  general  advance  in  the  requirements  foi 
admission  to  all  the  important  colleges  of  the  country. 
As  far  back  as  1872  President  Eliot  could  say  in  hia 
Annual  Report: — 


The  examination  for  admission  to  Harvard  is  at  least 
one  year's  study  higher  than  the  admission  examina- 
tion of  any  other  college  in  the  country.  .  ,  .  The 
authorities  of  the  College  do  not  intend  by  any  act  of 
theirs  to  diminish  this  difference  between  Harvard  Col- 
lege and  all  other  American  colleges;  but  they  would 
very  gladly  see  the  other  colleges  raising  their  requisi- 
tions for  admission  to  the  level  of  Harvard's  requisitions. 

The  requirements  for  admission  in  1868-69  were  nar- 
row and  rigid.  In  Latin  they  were  confined  to  Virgil, 
Caesar's  Commentaries,  a  selection  of  Cicero's  Orations, 
Latin  grammar  and  Latin  composition ;  in  Greek,  to  the 
Anabasis  and  the  first  three  books  of  the  Iliad,  Greek 
grammar  and  Greek  composition;  in  mathematics,  to 
arithmetic,  and  the  elements  of  algebra  and  of  plane 
gcometrj';  in  history,  to  short  text-books  in  the  history 
of  Greece  and  Rome ;  and  in  English,  to  reading  aloud. 
There  were  no  rerJ  alternatives,  and  the  examinations 
were  oral.  Some  freedom  was  introduced  within  two 
years  by  providing  that  an  examination  on  the  mathe- 
matics and  physics  of  the  Freshman  year  might  take 
the  place  of  the  Latin  and  Greek  composition,  and  of 
two  fifths  of  the  reading  in  those  languages. 

In  the  meantime  the  Faculty  was  discussing  a  pretty 
radical  restatement  of  the  whole  system  of  requirements. 
The  result  was  announced  in  1872-7;}  in  a  new  set  of 


REQl'lRE.V-^'TS  FOR  ADxMISSION 


55 


requirements,  which        sidcnt  Eliot  summed  up  three 
years  later  as  follows  — 

The  examinations  in  Latin  and  Greek  have  been 
greatly  improved  in  subject-matter  and  in  method;  the 
mathematical  requisitions  have  been  sensibly  increased: 
English  and  either  French  or  German  have  been  added 
to  the  requisitions;  and  natural  science  has  got  a  foot- 
hold in  the  scheme.  Furthermore,  the  few  persons  by 
whom  mathematics  are,  for  any  reason,  preferred  to 
the  classics,  are  permitted  to  offer  certain  advanced 
mathematics  instead  of  portions  of  the  Greek  and 
Latin  authors. 

In  this  year,  for  the  first  time,  examinations  were 
held  away  from  Cambridge.  Cincinnati  was  chosen  for 
the  experiment,  which  proved  so  successful  that  other 
places  were  soon  added. 

The  next  advance  was  made  in  1876-77  by  introducing 
maximum  requirements  in  two  out  of  the  four  chief 
subjects,  Greek,  Latin,  mathematics,  and  physical  or 
natural  science.  The  change  involved  no  serious  increase 
in  the  requirements,  but  it  was  a  step  towards  making 
easier  the  substitution  of  mathematics  or  science  for 
part  of  the  classics. 

The  discussion  over  Greek  continued,  ^ut  it  was  nine 
years  before  any  further  step  was  taken.  Then,  in  May, 
1886,  the  Corporation  and  Board  of  Overseers  gave  their 
approval  to  a  compromise  measure  which  had  been 
adopted  almost  unanimously  by  the  Faculty  the  year 
before,  after  long  argument  over  the  fate  of  Greek.  The 
important  new  points  in  this  scheme  were  that  modern 
languages  and  laboratory  courses  in  physics  and  chemis- 
try were  added  to  the  advanced  subjects,  and  that  it  was 
made  possible  to  omit  even  elementary  Greek  by  making 
a  larger  offering  of  mathematics  or  science.    Thus,  for 


i 


4 

i 

41 


^i...  _ 


50        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  FXIVERSITY 

the  first  tiinr,  it  hooanip  possible  for  a  hoy  to  prepare 
for  Harvard  College  at  a  school  which  taught  no  more 
of  the  elassies  tlian  easy  Latin  prose. 

In  the  nieantiiiie  President  Eliot  was  a  leader  in  a 
movement  for  the  g.'neral  improvement  of  education  in 
America,  the  results  of   whi<'li    inevital)Iy  affected   the 
conditions  of  admission  to  college.    In  18f)2  the  National 
Educational  Association  appointed  a  committee,  which 
became  known  as  "  The  Conniiittee  of  Ten."  to  .study  the 
teachinf,'  of  all  the  subjects  usually  found  in  secondary 
schools,  and  President  Eliot  was  made  chairman  of  the 
conmiittce.     Under  his  chairmanship,  the  Committee  of 
Ten  or-ianized  conferences  on  each  of  nine  subjects,  each 
conference  consisting  of  ten  members,  drawn,  like  the 
Committee  of  Ten  itself,  from  both  college  and  school- 
teachers, and  from  widely  separated  regions  of  the  coun- 
try.    Each   of  these   conferences   made  an   exhaustive 
study  and  report  on  its  own  subject,  and  these  reports 
were  in  turn  thoroughly  digested  and  discussed  by  the 
Committee  of  Ten.    The  latter  then  prepared  four  pro- 
grams, covering  the  four  years  of  the  sceondarj-  school, 
with  varying  emphasis  on  classics,  science,  mathematics, 
and  modern  languages;  and  they  strongly  urged  that  the 
doors  of  the  colleges  should  be  open  to  pupils  who  had 
followed  any  one  of  these  four  programs,  or  similar  ones. 
The  report  had  an  immense  and  beneficent  eflrect  on  the 
whole  system  of  education  in  America;  and  President 
Eliot's  leading   part   in    it  still   further  confirmed  his 
reputation  as  a  great  educational  statesman. 

It  was  obvious  tiiat  this  report  would  call  for  a  re- 
vision of  the  entrnnee  requirements  at  Ilarv-ard ;  and  in 
January.  1S')8.  after  nearly  four  years  of  deliI)eration,  the 
Faculty  adopted  a  scheme  in  which  the  range  of  elec- 
tion was  greatly  increased,  and  which  made  it  possible 


HARVARD  AND  THE  IM^BLIC  SCHOOLS     57 

for  a  boy  to  avoid  cither  Latiu  or  Greek  without  penalty 
in  the  form  of  harder  work  in  other  subjeets.  The  only 
prescriptions  under  tliis  scheme  were  that  a  boy  should 
be  prepared  in  English,  in  one  ancient  lauj,'uagc,  and 
one  modern  language,  in  geometry,  and  in  a  science,  and 
that  he  should  oll'er  at  least  two  advanced  subjects. 

All  through  these  years  of  discussion  and  advance  the 
College  has  kept  in  the  closest  touch  with  the  schools, 
and  no  change  has  been  made  which  has  not  been  sub- 
mitted to  experienced  school-teachers.  In  compensa- 
tion, the  College  is  now  in  clo.ser  relations  with  tiie  pub- 
lic-school system  of  the  country  than  ever  before.  In  the 
eight  years  from  18G7  to  1874  the  average  percentage  of 
students  admitted  from  public  high  schools  was  31  per 
cent,  and  in  one  year  it  Fell  to  24  per  cent.  In  1906-07 
this  percentage  had  ri.sen  to  43  per  cent;  and  in  11)12, 
with  the  aid  of  a  new  alternative  plan  of  admission 
even  more  closely  adapted  to  the  general  school  system 
of  the  country,  it  had  risen  to  50  per  cent. 


i. 


i 


4 


The  two  changes  which  we  have  been  considering — 
t/ie  responsibility  thrown  on  the  individual  by  the  elec- 
tive system,  and  the  higher  requirements  for  entrance — 
have  together  produced  a  marked  chang(>  in  the  direction 
of  maturity  and  soijricly  in  the  tone  of  undergraduate 
life.  The  College  to-day  has  few  of  the  outbreaks  of 
boyish  effervescence  wh'wh  kept  the  Faculty  and 
proctors  of  the  earlier  time  guessing  when  their  peace 
would  next  be  disturbed. 

The  increase  in  age  at  entrance  had  begun  before  1869. 
In  185G  the  average  age  of  the  entering  class  was  seven- 
teen years  and  seven  months,  and  in  IHfiO  it  had  risen  to 
eighteen  years  and  one  month.  In  18f;9  it  was  eighteen 
years  and  five  months.    Since  then  it  has  varied,  rising 


W\ 


n.ik 


58        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

above  nineteen  from  1887  to  1902,  then  gradually  falling 
to  an  average  below  nineteen  and  above  eighteen  years 
and  six  months.  A  eonsiderable  proportion  of  the  Junior 
elasses  and  almost  all  of  the  Senior  elasses  in  the  last 
forty  years  had  therefore  arrived  at  the  age  of  citizen- 
ship. 

Under  such  circumstances,  it  was  inevitable  that  the 
old  traditions  of  boyishness  should  gradually  die  out, 
and  in  the  deans'  reports  there  are  constantly  fewer 
complaints  of  disorder,  and  increasingly  frequent  men- 
tion of  cooperation  between  Faculty  and  students. 

The  first  of  the  traditional  rights  to  commit  disorder 
which  fell  was  the  right  of  Sophomores  to  haze  Fresh- 
men. In  his  report  for  1870-71,  Dean  Gurney  declared 
that  "  Unhappily  all  efforts  to  detect  and  bring  to  jus- 
tice the  perpetrators  of  the  gross  outrages  in  the  winter 
of  1871  at  a  private  house  and  in  Stoughton  Ilall  have 
thus  far  proved  unsuccessful."  The  outrage  in  Stough- 
ton was  an  explosion  of  gunpowder  in  the  cellar,  which 
nearly  wrecked  the  building.  The  next  year  he  reports 
greater  progress:  seven  Sophomores  and  one  Freshman 
having  been  suspended  for  disturbance  on  "  Bloody 
Monday  "  night,  the  sentences  had  been  remitted  in 
view  of  an  agreement  signed  by  all  members  of  the 
Sophomore  and  Freshman  classes  to  refrain  hencefor- 
ward from  hazing  in  all  its  forms.  Thus  hazing  came 
to  a  timely  end ;  for  the  class  of  1876  bad  no  experiences 
which  they  were  under  obligation  to  pass  on  to  the  class 
of  1877,  and  the  class  of  1877  had  no  experience  in  the 
matter  at  all. 

Since  that  time  there  have  been  few  outbreaks  in 
which  any  number  of  students  were  concerned.  In  the 
early  eighties  there  was  occasionally  some  disturbance 
after  athletic  successes,  and  for  a  time  the  discovery 


1  .» 


THE  ATHLETIC  COMMITTEE 


59 


that  proctors  could  be  brought  swarming  to  the  yard 
by  cannon  crackers  and  bonfires  stimulated  the  restless 
imagination  of  youth.  When  the  Faculty  appointed  a 
committee  to  confer  with  the  students,  and  issued  an  ap- 
peal to  their  good  sense,  and  at  the  same  time  instructed 
the  College  carpenter  to  furnish  wood  for  bonfires  on 
Jarvis  Field,  both  the  fun  and  the  desire  to  make  trouble 
evaporated. 

In  1885,  when  the  Faculty  first,  under  the  compulsion 
of  events,  began  to  take  notice  of  athletic  matters  and 
forbade  intercollegiate  football  for  a  couple  of  years,  a 
committee  of  conference  consisting  of  five  Faculty  mem- 
beia  and  sixteen  student  members  did  much  to  soothe  the 
disturbed  feelings  of  the  College.  Two  years  later  a 
thorough  report  on  athletics,  prepared  by  a  committee 
of  the  Faculty  consisting  of  Professors  J.  W.  White, 
Chaplin,  and  A.  B.  Hart,  went  still  further  to  quiet  the 
alarm  felt  by  undergraduates  and  some  graduates  that 
athletics  were  being  systematically  attacked,  by  making 
clear  the  faith  of  the  Faculty,  as  President  Eliot  summed 
it  up  in  his  annual  report,  "  that  dyspepsia  is  less  tol- 
erable than  a  stiffened  knee  or  thumb,  and  that  effeminacy 
and  luxury  are  even  worse  evils  than  brutality."  In 
1887-88  the  reconstitution  of  the  Athletic  Committee, 
with  three  members  each  from  Faculty,  graduates,  and 
undergraduates,  was  a  pledge  that  has  proved  lasting  of 
the  faith  of  the  Faculty  and  of  the  Governing  Boards 
in  the  good  sense  and  safe  judgment  of  the  College  as  a 
whole. 

In  the  middle  of  the  nineties  another  practice  gained 
general  acceptance  among  undergraduates  which  caused 
their  neighbors  in  the  town  to  regard  them  as  young 
barbarians  at  play:  this  was  the  custom  of  celebrating 
the  arrival  of  the  mid-year  period  of  examinations  by 


1 


.^':J 


t  i|:| 


m 


Ik 


t;o 


TIIH  IIISTOK'Y  OF  Tirr:  rXIVKRSITY 


firiiij:  f,'ims  jitul  otlur  Jiroariiis  out  of  the  windows  of 
tlu'  ilt)niiitoii(s.     ]5y  a  fortunate  aLcidcnt  an  important 
atlik'te  was  t;ikcn  with  a  sniokiu;,'  <,'iin;  and  a  comniittce 
of  Ills  fellows  was  foniiod  to  save  liiia  from  his  necessary 
fate.     Tlir(iiii,'h  tiiem  an  ajj^reemcut  was  entered  into  by 
wliieli    the    enstoin,    wliieh    liad    already    j^athered    the 
aiiti(iuity  of  live  or  six  years  and  so  ran  to  a  time  whereof 
no  man  could  remeinl)er  the  contrary,  was  quietly  put 
aw;iy  witi»  other  traditions  like  liazinj;  and  rebellions. 
Tile  same  ycnr  a  eummittee  of  three  students,  with  the 
approval  of  tlie  College  as  a  whole,  hunted  out  a  man 
who  liiul  painti'd  the  statue  of  John  Harvard,  and  forced 
him  to  i'  iive  eollepc.    A  few  years  after  this  the  ancient 
and  ci!cl)r;it((l  society  of  the  "  Med.  Fae."  which  from 
tile  middle  of  the  nineteenth   century  or  earlier  had 
^   .)u<,'ht  the  k'  -  Ti  iiitclli^'.iic(>  of  youth  to  the  devising 
)d    execution    of   pranks   that    were   irritatinfj  to  the 
i-  rs,  was  l)ruii;i;ht  to  a  peaceful  dcnth  by  the  concerted 
forts  of  its  j)ast  ne  i/ihers.  actinjr  under  the  pressure  of 
jblic  opinion  and  of  imminent  uanger  of  a  prison  sen- 
ice  to  Mue  if  its  active  meml)ers  who.  in  tlic  execution 
the  prnnk  assigned  to  him.  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
ill  fi    ree.    Thus  again  an  ancient  tradition  of  boyish 
ordi        as  done  to  death  by  the  maturer  sense  of  re- 
■^P'tnsiF'    i!y  in  the  (^)llege  at  large. 

'-'\n  ■  ditlicult  than  the  quelling  of  actual  disorder 

ha--  n  the  problem  of  inducing  the  students  as  a 
hod>  look  on  their  work  as  men's  work,  and  to  cease 
shirking  it  in  the  spirit  of  schoolboys.  This  is  a  problem 
which  will  perhaps  never  be  worked  out  in  any  college 
belonging  to  this  imi)erfeet  world;  and  it  is  always  easy 
in  discussion  of  it  to  lose  sight  of  tlie  fact  that  the  idle 
and  the  floaters  are  on  the  surface,  and  therefore  get  a 
dispropertionate  sli.ire  of  attention.      Moreover,   a  col- 


SYSTEM  OP  DlSCIl'LINK 


<)1 


lege  will  always  be  iDokcd  on  by  some  busy  fatiicrs  as 
an  asylum  to  which  tlu'y  can  commit  thoir  boys  for  the 
four  most  troublesome  years  of  their  lives.  Nevertlieless, 
the  progress  has  been  great,  and  it  is  true  that  now  the 
great  majority  of  undergraduates  look  on  their  studies 
with  an  interest  felt  by  a  fair  smaller  proportion  in  the 
days  of  strictly  prescril)t'd  studies. 

The  dealings  of  the  Faculty  with  the  students  during 
the  last  four  decades  have  been  a  continuing  series  of 
experiments  in  letting  them  "  taste  freedom  and  re- 
sponsibility." "When  Mr.  Eliot  became  President  he 
found  still  surviving  the  elaborate  system  of  marks  of 
censure  for  keeping  students  up  to  their  attendance  on 
church,  prayers,  and  rccitaticms.  There  was  a  multi- 
tude of  petty  rules:  one  forbade  congregating  in  groups 
in  the  Yard ;  another,  wearing  any  but  a  black  coat  on 
Sunday;  another,  lying  on  the  grass  in  the  Yard;  an- 
other, smoking  in  the  Yard ;  and  there  were  many  more. 
For  all  of  these  there  was  a  system  of  penalties  in  the 
form  of  demerits  of  sul)traction  from  the  total  number 
of  marks  earned  by  attendance  and  assiduity  at  recita- 
tions. The  whole  system  of  discipline  was  based  on 
minor  prescriptions,  on  which  the  imdcrgraduates,  with 
the  perverse  logic  of  youth,  ba.sed  a  feeling  that  they 
had  a  vested  right  to  go  up  to  the  very  edge  of  the  legal 
prohibition.  In  1874  tlie  Seniors  were  given  freedom 
from  the  rules  of  attendance.  The  plan  worked  well, 
and  it  was  soon  extended  to  the  Juniors.  (Jradualiy 
through  this  decade  the  Faculty  was  simplifying  regu- 
lations, and  in  1879-80  they  were  thoroughly  revised,  in 
order,  as  Dean  Dunbar  said,  to  make  them  "  a  body 
of  instructions,  informing  the  student  of  the  steps  to  be 
taken  by  him  in  order  to  qualify  himself  for  a  degree  or 
for   any   academic   honors."     In   the   same   report,   he 


62       THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

announcod  the  oxtonsion  of  the  principle  of  responsi- 
bility for  attendiuu'f  as  follows: — 

The  Faculty  determined  to  adopt  the  simple  provision 
with  respect  to  students  of  all  classes,  that  habitual 
absence  is  prima  facie  evidence  that  the  student  is  not 
fulfilling  the  purposes  of  his  residence  at  the  University, 
and  calls  for  inquiry,  explanation,  and  such  action  as 
may  be  found  to  be  fitted  to  the  special  circumstances; 
and  that  irregularity  of  attendance,  unless  ac(  ompanied 
by  good  scholarship,  is  to  be  regarded  and  treated  in 
the  same  way.  No  scale  of  penalties  is  stated,  and  no 
precise  line  of  absences  or  scholarship  is  given,  the  de- 
sign of  the  rule  being  to  deal  with  individuals  and  not 
with  sharply  defined  classes,  and  to  deal  with  them  by 
such  flexible  methods  as  are  necessary  in  distinguishing 
between  cases  where  the  student  proves  his  capacity  to 
act  upon  his  own  responsibility  and  those  where  he  needs 
more  or  less  support  from  discipline. 

To  carry  out  this  provision,  the  direct  responsibility 
for  good  order  and  attendance  was  handed  over  by  the 
Faculty  to  administrative  ofTiccrs.  Five  years'  trial  of 
the  new  principle  showed  the  need  of  some  slight  con- 
cessions to  the  weakness  of  human  nature,  and  in  1885-86 
the  Faculty  required  students  to  give  proof  to  their  in- 
structors that  they  were  working  regularly  and  sys- 
tematically in  their  courses.  In  the  same  year  another 
change  more  than  made  up  for  this  closer  supervision. 
Attendance  at  morning  chapel  was  made  voluntary,  and 
there  was  then  no  official  means  of  knowing  whether  a 
student  was  in  Cambridge  or  not.  It  was  a  period  of 
delightful  freedom  for  the  birds  of  paradise,  and  in 
many  cases  they  fluttered  far  from  the  nest.  It  was  not 
long  before  absenci'  from  Cambridge  became  an  open 
scandal,  and  in  1888-89  the  Overseers  put  before  the 
Faculty  the  necessity  of  attending  to  the  matter.    Under 


DEAN  BRIOGS 


63 


this  pressure  the  F'aculty  revised  the  regulations  once 
more  and  established  rules  retiuiring  prompt  attendance 
after  vacations  and  holidays,  prompt  notice  to  the  Col- 
lege office  of  absence  caused  by  illness  or  indisposition, 
and  something  like  regular  attendance  and  systematic 
work.  With  these  safeguards  "  the  development  of  the 
general  policy  of  giving  students  liberty  with  responsi- 
bility "  may  be  regarded  as  complete. 

The  success  of  any  such  policy  must  in  the  end  depend 
on  its  administration.  That  the  policy  has  been  so  suc- 
cessful at  Harvard  is  largely  due  to  the  genius  for  deal- 
ing with  young  men  possessed  by  Dean  L.  B.  R.  Briggs 
(A.B.  1875),  who  became  Dean  of  Harvard  College  in 
1891,  and  therefore  bore  the  brunt  of  so  administering 
the  new  rules  as  to  make  students  l)elieve  in  them.  His 
faith  in  "  the  overwhelming  predominance  of  good  over 
evil  in  undergraduates."  as  President  Eliot  said  in  con- 
ferring the  degree  of  LL.D.  on  him  at  Commencement, 
1900,  gave  to  the  office  of  Dean  a  new  meaning.  Under 
him  students  began  to  come  to  the  Dean 's  office  of  their 
own  accord,  to  get  counsel  for  themselves  and  for  their 
friends,  and  the  reign  of  "  liberty  with  responsibility  " 
was  well  balanced. 

Coincident  with  this  final  step  towards  liberty  with 
responsibility  in  mattt-rs  academic  went  a  notable  step 
towards  liberty  with  responsibility  in  religion.  From 
the  foundation  of  the  College  attendance  at  the  regular 
religious  exercises,  daily  and  weekly,  had  been  rigorously 
prescribed.  Even  the  great  enfranchisement  of  thought 
embodied  in  the  Unitarian  movement  at  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century  did  not  shake  the  belief  that 
young  men  should  have  no  option  about  going  to  chapel 
services  and  to  church. 

In  the  latter  third  of  the  century,  however,  sentiment 


I 


t 


'      i 

*. 


\    ■: 


CI        Tin:  IllSTOKY  OF  TllK  INIVKHSITY 

|„.,.an  t..  .I.anu'...    As  .i.rly  us  IHTU  tJi-  Faculty  l.ml  vofd 
that  i.tt.n.l.in..-  ..t  .l;.ily  i-nmis  slu.ul.l  hv  inadi'  volun- 
tary     Th.'  (Icwn.inu  Hoards  inowd  more  slowly,  and 
it  was  not  until  ISSd  tliat  tho  Corporation  and  Hoard 
or  Ovcrsi'crs.  alter  four  scj.arat.-  vot.s  of  the  Faculty 
and  two  p.titini.s  rro.n  tlu>  stud-nts.  (inally  jravv  their 
assent,     ll.iir.  fnrward  attendance  at  relijrious  exercises, 
so  I'ar  as  tlie  rniveisitv  was  eoncrmcd.  was  left  wholly 
to  ea.li  student  to  decide  for  himself.    It  was  understood 
at  Ww  time  that  the  inlluenee  of  the  late  Hishop  I'hdlips 
HrooUs  was  very  powerful  hoth  in  delayins  the  change, 
and  in  hrinuiiif?  it  about  when  h.'  was  once  convinced, 
li,  f.-re  the  ehau^'e  took  phicc  the  Corporation,  acting 
with  a  eoMUuittee  of  th.-  Hoar.l  of  Overs.>ers.  had  made 
tlie  chapel  s(  rviees  more  attraetiv.'  and  more  fitting  to 
a  IkuIv  drawn  from  all  varieties  of  religious  persuasion. 
l,v  puttin-  t!. m  in  the  h.ui.ls  of  a  Hoard  of  I'reachers. 
drawn    from    dilTeient   ddiominations.     Kach   of   these 
preachers  undertook  a  period  of  service,  during  which 
he  eonductcil  the  short  morning  sevice  in  the  chapel, 
and  preached  at  the  Sunday  service,     l^esides  this,  ho 
put  himself  at  the  service  of  students  who  wished  to  call 
on  him  in  the  pleasant  rooms  provided  for  the  preacher 
in  residence.     Th.re  has  heen  no  difticulty  in  drawing 
ministers  of  various  Christian  bodies  for  service  on  this 
bonr.l:  and  they  testify  unanimously  to  its  interest  and 
value. 

To  come  to  the  fourth  txreat  advance  of  President 
Eliot's  administration,  the  ehantre  wliieh  di.l  more  than 
anything  else  to  transform  Harvard  into  a  real  univer- 
sity was" the  organizing  of  regular  instruction  for  grad- 
uate students  leading  to  the  degrees  of  A.M..  Ph.D.,  and 
S.D. 


r.RAOrATK  INSTRICTION' 


fi5 


Instruction  for  praduntcs  at  Harvard  was  far  from 
boing  a  new  fai-t.  hulvd,  tlir  prcs.  ii.t  ..f  rcsid.nt  Krad- 
uatos  is  probably  as  old  as  tbr  Coll.'j?c  itsrlf,  and  in  all 
th.'  catalogues  of  the  ninct.cntli  ci'ntury  there  are  small 
groups  of  resident  graduat.s  entered  after  the  under- 
graduates.' 

The  Lawrence  Scicntilie  School  was  founded  in  1H4»., 
hirgdv  to  carry  on  advanced  work  in  science,  and  this 
rnd  was  successfully  accoi.ii)lished  under  Professor  Louis 
Agassiz,    Professor   Asa    <Jray.    and    Professor    Wolcott 
Gibbs.  and  their  colleagues  and  succi'ssors.    Apart  from 
pure  science,  liowever.  the  oi.portunitics   for  graduate 
instruction    at    Harvard    were    ni.ager    and    irregular. 
AVith  men  like  Professor  F.  J.  Chii.l  Professor  Henjanun 
Pcin-e,  and  Professor  W.  W.  (Joi.dwin  on  the  Faculty 
tberc  was  little  danger  that  scholarly  r.'search  would 
languish  or  slumber;  but  there  was  no  organiz.'d  system 
by  which  students  could  take  advantage  of  the  learn- 
ing of  those  eminent  men,  or  of  the  c..llections  of  books 
in  the  Library,  which  wc-e  growing  all  the  time  under 
their  direction.     An  ambitious  stu.lent  wh..  wish.d  to 
get   any   real   knowledge  of   his  subject  and  to   learn 
methods  of  research,  went  to  Germany. 

Some  attempts  had  been  made  in  18G0  to  remedy  thw 
defect.  The  University  Lectures  have  already  been  de- 
scribed In  18ti3  the  Corporation,  to  make  them  more 
effective,  authorized  the  professors  in  all  departments  of 
the  University  to  associate  themselves  in  order  to  im- 
prove these  lectures.  Nevertheless,  the  breakdown  of 
the  University  Lectures  was  not  long  delayed.  In  his 
report  for  1871-72,  President  Eliot  wrote:— 

'  .T.  M.  I'.ircP  ill  Report  c.f  the  Cira.luato  Department,  President 
and  r.casurcr's  Heiiorl,  ISTO-HO. 


!• 


ih'r'l 


MICRO'-OPY    RESOIUTION    TEST    CHART 

ANSI  ond  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    2 


I.I 


13.2 


:  1^ 


125  i  1.4 


Z2 

IZO 

1.8 


1.6 


^     APPLIED  IM^GE     Inc 


66       THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

The  "  University  Lectures  "  have  uow  l)een  tried  for 
nine  years.  Although  some  temporary  advantages  and 
certain  permanent  improvements  have  resulted  from 
them,  it  must  be  confessed  that  they  have  distinctly 
failed  as  a  scheme  for  giving  advanced  instruction  in 
philosophy,  history,  and  the  humanities,  and  that  they 
have  failed  hopelessly,  and  in  an  unexpectedly  short 
time.  They  have  not  induced  Hadielors  of  Arts  of  this 
University  to  remain  in  Cambridge  for  purposes  of 
systematic  study,  and  they  have  not  attracted  to  the 
University  advanced  students  from  other  places. 

In  the  mean  time  the  Faculties  and  the  Governing 
Boards  had  been  giving  time  and  thought  to  the  matter 
and  had  worked  out  a  plan  which  was  incorporated  in 
standing  votes  of  the  Governing  Boards  in  the  spring 
of  1872.  Under  these  votes,  the  old  degree  of  A.M., 
which  for  many  years  had  been  given  to  any  respectable 
holder  of  an  A.B.  on  payment  of  a  fee  three  years  after 
graduation,  was  now  to  be  conferred  only  on  examination 
and  after  a  year  of  residence.  The  new  degrees  of  Ph.D. 
and  S.D.,  with  prescriptions  borrowed  from  the  German 
usage,  were  established;  the  former  to  be  conferred 
after  at  least  two  years  of  residence,  the  latter  after 
three,  and  both  only  on  examination  and  the  presenta- 
tion of  a  thesis  showing  original  research.  These  de- 
grees were  to  be  administ(>red  by  the  University  Council, 
which  consisted  of  the  President,  professors,  assistant 
professors,  and  adjunct  professors  of  the  University. 
With  these  votes  serious  and  substantial  study  and  re- 
search were  definitely  launched  at  Harvard. 

Stimulus  to  graduate  work  was  provided  by  the 
foundation,  in  1871,  of  the  John  Thornton  Kirkland 
Travelling  Fellowship,  through  a  gift  from  the  Honorable 
George  Bancroft  (A.B.  1817),  in  memory  of  President 
Kirkland,  and  by  the  Parker  Fellowship,  in  1873,  for 


GRADUATE  INSTRUCTION 


67 


graduate  study  at  home  or  abroad.  But  at  the  same 
time  advanced  courses  were  instituted  in  various  sub- 
jects, including  Sanskrit,  classical  philology,  diplomatic 
history,  and  international  law. 

In  1876-77,  five  years  after  the  announcement  of  the 
new  degrees,  the  President  reports  that  there  are  forty- 
five  candidates  for  the  graduate  degrees,  including  twenty 
for  the  Ph.D.  and  five  for  the  S.D. ;  and  in  these  first 
five  years  there  were  conferred  a  total  of  thirty-seven 
degrees  of  A.M.,  fourteen  of  Ph.D.,  and  two  of  S.D.  The 
experiment  was  so  successful  that  President  Eliot 
pledged  the  Corporation  to  its  support  through  opening 
and  improving  the  laboratories  and  museums  and  in- 
creasing the  store  of  books  in  the  Library. 

In  1877-78  the  "  Graduate  Department  "  first  appears 
in  the  annual  catalogue  under  that  title,  with  a  list  of 
twenty-seven  courses  specially  fc.  graduates,  besides  the 
courses  in  Harvard  College,  which  also  were  open  to 
them.  In  1881-82  there  were  forty-eight  courses  listed 
under  the  Graduate  Department,  though  not  all  were 
given  in  that  year.  The  next  year  and  for  several  years 
to  come  these  courses  were  included  with  the  general 
list  of  electives. 

At  last,  in  1889-90,  after  nearly  twenty  years  of  or- 
ganized graduate  courses,  these  points  had  become  clear: 
that  this  instruction  fell  almost  wholly  under  the  facul- 
ties at  Cambridge ;  that  it  was  inextricably  connected 
with  the  instruction  of  undergraduates,  the  two  depend- 
ing on  and  mutually  strengthening  each  other ;  and  that 
the  time  had  come  for  it  to  be  organized  mv^re  firmly  into 
a  distinct  school.  At  the  same  time,  the  character  of  the 
Lawrence  Scientific  School  had  considerably  changed, 
and  its  instruction  had  almost  grown  together  with  that 
offered  in  Harvard  College.     Accordingly  a  thorough 


\\l  * 


(  Mil 


P' 


I 


4 


(;8       THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVEKSITY 

roorsanization  was  worked  out,  by  which  the  faculties 
of  the  College  ami  of  tlie  Lawrence  Scientific  School  and 
the  Academic  (\nuicil  were  dissolved,  and  a  new  Faculty 
of  Arts  and  Sciences  was  created,  to  which  was  com- 
mitted the  charjie  of  the  College,  the  Lawrence  Scientific 
School,  and  the  Graduate  School,  each  of  them  to  have 
its  own  administrativt;  board.  At  the  same  tir  e  the 
courses  offered  by  this  joint  Faculty  were  rearranged 
in  three  groups,  "  primarily  for  undergraduates,"  "  for 
graduates  and  undergraduates,"  and  "  primarily  for 
graduates."  This  llexibh-  arrangement  recognized  .he 
close  relations  existing  among  the  courses,  and  the  way 
in  which  the  body  of  instruction  in  any  subject  im- 
perc(>ptibly  passes  on  from  elementary  to  advanced. 

The  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences  has  steadily 
and  at  times  rapidly  increased  in  size.  In  1872-73  there 
were  in  all  twi'nty-eight  students,  in  1882-83  there  were 
fifty-six;  in  1S!)2-!I3  there  were  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
six;  in  li)02-()3  there  were  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
five;  and  in  1908-09  there  were  four  hundred  and 
twenty-nine.  A  good  test  of  the  usefulness  of  the  School 
lies  in  the  number  of  the  highest  degrees  conferred,  for 
hard  and  long-sustained  work  has  been  necessary  to  win 
them.  At  Commencement,  1873,  the  degrees  of  Ph.D. 
and  S.D.  were  conferred  for  the  first  time  by  the  Uni- 
versity, the  former  on  two  candidates,  the  latter  on  one. 
In  1883  there  were  five  degrees  of  Ph.D.  In  1893  there 
were  twelve  degrees  of  Pli.D.  and  one  of  S.D.  In  1903 
there  were  twenty-eight  degrees  of  Ph.D.  and  one  of 
S.D.     In  1909  there  were  thirty-eight  degrees  of  Ph.D. 


The  fifth  great  group  of  changes  in  the  University 
resulted  in  making  professional  study  in  the  professional 
schools  graduate  work.     Of  all  the  changes  wrought 


THE  iMEDICAL  SrilOOL 


69 


during  the  administration  of  President  Eliot  those  in 
the  Medical  Sehoo!  are  the  most  spectacular . 

The  state  o£  affairs,  as  previously  described,  had  al- 
ready created  discussion  among  sonic  of  the  younger  in- 
structors of  the  School;  and  the  discussion  was  imme- 
diately brought  to  a  head  by  President  Eliot.  He  wrote 
in  his  first  annual  report: — 

The  whole  system  of  medical  education  in  this  country 
needs  thorough  reformation.  Tlie  course  of  professional 
instruction  should  be  a  i)rogrcssive  one,  covering  three 
years;  the  Winter  Session  and  the  Summer  Session 
should  be  amalgamated ;  and  the  student  should  give  his 
attendance  at  lectures  and  nn-itations,  at  hospitals  and 
laboratories,  during  the  whole  year.  The  Medical 
Faculty  have  been  actively  discussing  these  mueh-nceded 
changes,  and  will  shortly  rearrange  their  programme 
of  instruction. 

The  discussion  in  the  IMedical  Faculty  was  thorough 
and,  it  is  said,  heated ;  but  in  his  second  annual  report, 
President  Eliot  could  announce  that  the  changes  he  had 
outlined  had  gone  into  effect  at  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1871-72.  The  main  points  of  these  revolutionary 
changes  were:  (1)  regular  instruction  running  through 
the  same  academic  year  as  in  the  rest  of  the  University ; 
(2)  a  progressive  course  covering  three  years,  in  which 
each  student  would  study  all  the  recognized  subjects  of 
medical  instruction;  (:?)  full  laboratory  work  in  place 
of  or  in  addition  to  lectures  and  recitations  in  anatomy, 
physiology,  chemistry,  and  pathological  anatomy;  and 
(  1)  the  passing  of  written  examinations  in  all  tlie  main 
subjects  instead  of  the  passing  of  oral  examinations  in  a 
part  of  them. 

At  the  same  time,  the  Corporation  assumed  full  charge 
of  the  receiptp  and  expenditures  of  the  Medical  School, 


■f)i 


♦ ' 


r  '[} 


70        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

thus  removing  the  chief  remaining  characteristic  of  the 
"  proprietary  school."  At  this  time  the  entire  endow- 
ment of  the  School  was  $40,000. 

The  reforms  were  eagerly  received  by  the  students,  and 
in  1871-72  the  President  reported  that  the  chemical 
laboratory  was  crowded,  and  the  microscope  room  in  con- 
stant use.    In  the  same  year  the  Corporation  appointed 
professors  of  ophthalmology-,  hygiene,  mental  diseases,  and 
dermatology,  though  the  professors  served  without  pay. 
The  degree  of  I\I.D.  was  given  under  the  old  regulations 
for  the  last  time  in  February,  1874.    In  that  year  seven 
eighths  of  the  students  stayed  for  the  second  term, 
though  no  other  medical  school  in  the  country  required 
attendance  for  more  than  a  four  or  five  months'  session. 
It  was  not  until  1876-77  that  any  other  school  followed 
the  example  of  the  Harvard  Medical  School.    In  1879-80 
the  School  took  another  step  forward  by  setting  up  a 
voluntary  four  years'  course  beside  the  three  years' 
course.    This  year  land  was  bought  in  a  central  position 
for  a  new  building,  and  the  next  year  two  members  of 
the  Faculty,  within  three  weeks,  raised  over  $100,000 
for  the  erection  of  the  building.    In  the  ten  years  after 
the  School  had  ceased  to  be  in  any  sense  a  private  ven- 
ture, and  had  become  a  constituent  part  of  the  Uni- 
versity, it  received  by  gift  and  bequest  $270,000. 

In  these  ten  years  important  steps  had  also  been  taken 
to  improve  the  quality  of  the  men  who  came  to  study 
medicine.  The  majority  of  the  students  at  the  School 
in  1870  are  described  as  "  greatly  inferior,  as  regards 
education  and  general  standing,  to  those  who  enter  other 
departments  of  the  University."*  A  considerable  im- 
provement was  made  at  once  by  requiring  three  full 

•  Dr.  W.  L.  Richardson,  Harvard  Oraduatrs'  Magazine,  vol.  ii, 
p.  479. 


THE  MEDICAL  SCHOOL 


71 


years  of  work  for  the  degree.  In  1873-74  more  than 
one  third  of  the  students  held  degrees,  as  against  less 
than  one  fourth  three  years  before.  In  1874-75  examina- 
tions for  admission  to  the  School  were  established  for 
all  candidates  who  did  not  come  with  a  degree.  In  1880 
the  Faculty  doubled  the  number  of  subjects  in  this  re- 
quirement; and  by  this  time  President  Eliot  could 
say: — 

In  this  University,  until  the  reformation  of  the  School 
in  1870-71,  the  medical  students  were  noticeably  in- 
ferior in  bearing,  manners,  and  discipline  to  the  stu- 
dents of  other  departments ;  they  are  now  indistinguish- 
able from  other  students. 

For  the  next  thirty  years  the  history  of  the  School  is 
a  history,  no  longer  of  a  revolution,  but  of  a  steady, 
rapid  advance  and  expansion.  In  those  thirty  years 
medical  science  was  completely  made  over  by  the  dis- 
covery of  the  microscopic  forms  of  animal  and  vegetable 
life,  which  are  the  principal  causes  of  diseases;  by  the 
enormous  advances  of  chemistry,  and  by  the  great  im- 
provements in  the  technique  of  microscopy.  These  great 
improvements  in  the  science  altered  the  whole  idea  of  the 
aim  of  medical  education  and  effort,  and  preventive 
medicine  began  to  take  its  place  by  the  side  of  curative. 
As  early  as  1884  President  Eliot  urged  the  endowment 
of  a  professorship  of  public  health  or  preventive  medi- 
cine. 

When  in  the  autumn  of  1883  the  School  moved  into  the 
new  building  on  Boylston  Street  it  had  developed  the 
laboratory  idea  to  a  point  that  was  hardly  conceivable 
twelve  years  before.  The  laboratories  weie  now  the  chief 
feature  of  the  new  building,   and  the  Dean  of  the 


•I 
.1! 


72        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  INIVERSITY 

School  for  tho  first  time,  in  liis  report  for  1883-84,  re- 
counts tlio  sciriititii-  papers  prodiirrd  in  them. 

From  the  time  tliat  tho  four  years'  course  was  cs- 
tablislicd  thi-  School  gained  slowly  in  numltcrs.    In  1887- 
88  the  number  of  sul)jects  of  medical  research  and  dis- 
covery  had  so  increased  tiiat  tlie   work  of  tlie   fourth 
year  was  made  elective,  and  two  hours  a  week  of  elective 
work  were  iiitrnduced  into  tlie  tiiird  year.     Tn  1888-80 
summer  courses   were   estahlish(>d,  chietly  clinical.      In 
the  sami^  year  the  Sdiool  received  from  Dr.   Henry  F. 
Sears  a  t,'ift  to  buikl  a  lalioratory  for  the  rapidly  increas- 
ing department  of  patholojry.    By  1891-02  it  liad  so  in- 
creased in  importance  and  in  its  scientific  possibilities 
that  it  was  decided  that  a  professor  of  pathology  should 
be  appointed  who  should  give  all  his  time  to  teaching 
and  research.    In  the  same  year  a  professorship  of  his- 
tology and  human  embryology  was  established,  an  asso- 
ciate professor  of  physiology  was  added,  and  the  work 
in  bacteriology  was  enlarged.     In  tho   next  year  the 
change  in  the  conditions  of  medical  education  was  recog- 
nized" by  putting  the  professors  in  the  :\Iedieal  School 
who  were  giving  their  full  time  to  the  School  on  the 
same  level  of  salaries  as  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences. 
Henceforward,  it  was  seen,  some  important  medical  sub- 
jects, which  had 'disconnected  themselves  from  practice, 
would  demand  the  whole  time  of  a  professor. 

In  1800-07  the  President  announced  that  the  School 
had  more  than  doubled  in  numbers  since  the  completion 
of  the  new  building  in  1883,  and  that  since  the  new 
methods  of  education  demanded  more  space  for  each 
student,  the  School  had  outgrown  its  quarters.  He 
pointed  out  also,  that  for  its  full  usefulness  the  School 
should  have  a  hospital  attached  to  it.  Five  years  later 
he  was  able  to  announce  the  successful  completion  of  the 


THE  MEDICAL  SCHOOL 


73 


great  "  Medical  Seliool  rndortakin^'."  which  involved 
tiic  purchase  and  holding  for  the  Sciiool  ol"  a  large  tract 
ol"  land,  and  the  raising  of  nearly  five  million  dollars 
lor  buildings  and  endowments.  An  account  of  these 
buildings  and  their  ciiuipnient  will  be  found  in 
Chapter  IIL 

The  improvement  of  the  equipment  of  the  School, 
however,  was  not  the  only  care  of  the  authorities.  The 
Faculty  noted  with  disturbance  that  the  proportion  of 
college  men  entering  the  School,  which  had  risen  to  a 
maximum  of  53.9  per  cent  in  18S4,  had  under  the  in- 
creasing requirements  for  the  degree  rar^idly  fallen  off 
iigain,  until  in  1893  it  had  dropped  to  23  per  cent.  The 
same  falling-off  in  the  percentage  of  college  graduates 
had  taken  place  in  the  Law  School.  After  careful  con- 
sideration the  Faculty  of  the  IMedical  School  voted  in 
1895-9G  that  after  the  year  1900  candidates  for  admis- 
sion to  the  School  must  come  with  a  degree.  As  a  con- 
sequence of  this  vote  the  number  of  the  entering  class 
was  reduced  by  more  than  one  half;  and  even  with  the 
advantages  of  the  new  buildings  the  School  has  not  yet 
recovered  in  numbers.  Fortunately  the  endowm(>nt 
raised  for  the  support  of  the  School  in  the  new  build- 
ings made  it  possible  for  the  work  to  go  on,  with  a  con- 
stantly increasing  amount  of  research. 

Coincident  with  the  complete  making  over  of  medical 
education  went  a  corresponding  advance  in  dental  edu- 
cation. In  the  history  of  the  various  faculties  there  is 
no  finer  record  of  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  improving 
and  elevating  a  profession  than  that  made  by  tlie  Faculty 
of  the  Dental  School.  Loosely  attached  to  the  University 
in  18G9-70,  as  a  kind  of  step-brother  of  the  INledical 
School,  it  had  only  twenty-seven  students,  and  its  dem- 
onstrations and  practical  instruction  were  carried  on  at 


W. 


.r 


i^' 


.Ji! 
•  'I 

m 


n. 


!    ., 


74        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVEKSITY 

the  Dental  Infirmary  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Hos- 
pital.   In  1871-72  the  Corporation  assumed  the  financial 
affairs  of  the  School,  and  a  summer  session  was  estab- 
lished.  as  a  first  step  towards  a  term  as  lonp  as  that  in 
the  other  departments  of  the  University.     Three  years 
later  this  end  had  heen  accomplished ;  and  besides,  every 
candidate  for  the  degree  was  required  to  spend  at  least 
one  full  year  in  the  School,  and  the  fees  were  raised. 
The  severity  of  these  requirements  as  compared  with 
those  of  other  dental  schools  cut  down  the  numbers,  and 
for  some  years  the  professors  served  without  pay.    By 
1882-83  the  School  was  beginning  to  draw  students  from 
abroad,  and  the  payment  of  small  salaries  to  the  pro- 
fessors was  resumed.     In  that  year  its  numbers  had 
risen  to  thirty  and  five  years  later  to  forty-two. 

The  reputation  of  the  School  was  now  secure,  and 
gradually  requirements  for  admission  were  established 
and  increased.  After  1901-02  these  requirements  were 
made  equal  to  those  for  Harvard  College.  The  number 
of  students  had  now  risen  to  one  hundred  and  five,  and 
the  School  had  an  endowment  of  $77,000.  In  1907-08  the 
Faculty  of  the  Medical  School  recommended  that  the 
Corporation  advance  $80,000  out  of  the  ^Medical  School 
funds  towards  a  building  for  the  Dental  School.  With 
this  sum.  and  a  subscription  to  which  the  graduates  of 
the  Dental  School  contributed  generously,  a  new  build- 
ing next  to  the  buildings  of  the  Medical  School  was 
assured.  Thus  the  Dental  School  entered  on  a  new 
period  of  well-deserved  prosperity. 

Though  the  revolution  in  the  Law  School  during  Presi- 
dent Eliot's  administration  was  as  complete  as  that  in 
the  Medical  School,  and  has  had  even  wider  effect 
throughout  the  country  and  even  in  England,  it  was 
sooner  completed,   for  the  common   law  has  not  also 


THE  LAW  SCHOOL 


75 


simultaneously  undergone  a  revolution  which  has  car- 
ried away  all  earlier  landmarks,  as  has  happened  in  the 
case  of  medical  science. 

The  Law  School  was  still,  in  18G9,  i.iodelcd  upon  a 
lawyer's  office:  the  fee  was  the  same  as  that  paid  in 
offices,  and  the  School  furnished  its  students  with  text- 
books.'    The  Faculty  never  had  formal  meetings;  and 
President  Eliot  tells  of  the  humorous  surprise  with 
which  Governor  Washburn,  then  Dean  of  the  School, 
met  him  when  he  first  visited  Dane  Hall.    The  course 
was  nominally  eighteen  months,  but  the  students  were 
not  divided  into  classes  except  for  the  moot  courts,  and 
all  the  instruction  given  each  year,  except  one  course 
for  beginners,  was  intended  for  the  whole  School.    There 
were  no  examinations,  cither  at  the  end  of  courses,  or  for 
the  degree.    The  library  of  the  School,  which  in  1845 
had  been  considered  the  largest  and  best  law  library  in 
the  United  States,  had  been  wrecked  through  careless 
use  and  almost  complete  absence  of  regular  oversight. 
There  were  three  professors  in  the   School,  and  one 
hundred    and   twenty    students    in    the    first    term    of 
1869-70.    No  one  is  designated  as  Dean  in  the  annual 
catalogue. 

In  December,  1869,  Professor  Parsons  resigned  from 
the  Dane  Professorship.  C.  C.  Langdell  (A.B.  1851)  was 
elected  to  succeed  him,  and  the  next  year  was  made 
Dean  of  the  School.  Of  the  circumstances  of  the  ap- 
pointment something  will  be  said  in  Chapter  III;  and 
there  also  will  be  described  in  full  the  "  case  system  " 
of  teaching  law  which  Professor  Langdell  at  once  in- 
troduced into  one  of  his  own  courses,  and  which  rapidly 
spread,  first  throughout  the  School,  and  then  to  all  the 

» C.  C.  Langdell,  in  Harvard  araduatea'  Magazine,  vol.  ii,  p. 
492. 


■•i, 

Ii 


rt;     TIIH  IIISTOIJY  OF  TIM-:  inivkksity 


Iciltlilil? 


liiw  schools  t.r  llif  cDiiiitiy.     luAvv  this  systi-m 
jis  s*nt  to  th.'  hooUs  iti  whicli  were 
(Ufithil  wlitTovt-r  the 


a  ^stutl^'llt    of  huv   w 

foiitiiincil  the  niioits  of  tin'  fascs 


coininoii 


1: 


w    I 


(fcVill.S; 


tht'i-c   111-    Iciiriu'il   tlu'    facts  on 


which  the  (Ircisidiis  were  based,  and  Ihc  actual  opinions 
and  nasoniii!,'  of  the  jutl-es.     At  the  same  time  a  per- 

Kled  to  the  staff  of  the  School, 


m 


iilient   lihraiiaii  was  ai 


his  wholi-  time  to  the  lil)rary.  and  within  ten 
vears  over  ^:il.n()0  was  spent  on  restoring,'  and  increasinj,' 


who  firave 


the  collection.     The  re-inlar  resit 


leiice  rciiuired  for  the 


dcf! 


rec 


of  LL.H.  was  raisi 


iminations  W( 


■d  from  eijihtoen  months  to  two 
■re  instituted  at  the  end  of 


years;  and  examniations 
each  course,  the  i)assinj,'  of  which  was  re(iuirod  iioth  for 
promotion  to  the  second  year  and  for  the  degree.  The 
tuition  fee  was  raised  to  $1")0. 

The  first  etTect  of  these  ri^'orous  chanjios  was  to  re- 
duce the  number  of  students;  but  by  the  second  year 
the  dcerenst'  was  made  up.  and  nearly  two  thirds  of  the 
students  were  eolle'_'e  jiraduates,  wliile  a  few  of  the  best 
stu(hnts  were  stayiiis;  for  a  third  year  of  study.  In 
1872-7:5  the  late  James  I'.arr  Ames  (A.B.  18(iS).  then 
just  out  of  the  School,  was  appointed  assistant  professor. 
This  was  a  radical  departure  from  the  established  prac- 
tice, for  law  schools  heretofore  had  sought  for  professors 
only  lawyers  of  established  reputation.  The  appoint- 
ment inaii<iurat»>d  a  new  profession,  the  teaching  of  law. 

In  lS7:{-74  James  P.radley  Th-^ver  (A. 11.  18r.2)  was 
elected  Rnyall  Professor  of  Law,  and  in  the  next  year 
John  Chii)man  (!ray  (A. 15.  1850)  was  promoted  to  the 
Story  Professorship.  They,  with  Professor  Amos,  and 
under  the  leadership  of  Dean  Langdell,  brought  the 
School  to  a  succer,s  and  reputation  which  soon  made 
necessary  the  enlargement  of  the  Faculty.  In  1875-76, 
under  the  steady  pressure  of  Dean  Latigdell  for  thor- 


TIIF  LAW  SCHOOL 


77 


ouK'liuosH  and  l)r<'a(ltli  in  Ii^mI  (Mhicatioii,  the  course  lor 
the  dt'gree  was  lt'D(^tlu'ned  to  throe  years,  the  ehanne  to 
take  effeet  witli  the  class  tliat  entered  the  School  in  1877- 
78.  In  his  report  for  the  next  year  President  Eliot,  in 
summing  up  the  advance  of  the  School,  described  how 
seriously  it  had  outgrown  its  huilding.  Two  years  later 
he  was  enabled  to  announce  the  promise  of  a  new  build- 
iutf.  on  an  ample  scale.  licfore  the  new  ])uilding  was 
ready  a  new  professorship  was  endowed,  and  $47,000 
was  raised  for  the  purchase  of  books  for  the  Library. 

Up  to  this  time  there  had  been  some  irregularity  in 
the  growth  of  the  School ;  and  when  it  moved  into  the 
new  building  in  the  autumn  of  188:}  the  number  of 
students  was  less  by  twenty  than  in  the  preceding  yea". 
The  depression  was  temporary,  however,  and  within  a 
vcar  or  two  the  numbers  were  slowly  mounting  again. 
Lawyers  had  felt  some  hesitation  over  the  new  and 
.strange  way  of  educating  young  men  for  the  professicm; 
the  School  was  said  not  to  be  "  practical  ";  and  the  habit 
of  the  professors  of  laying  foundations  for  legal  prin- 
ciples in  the  Year-Books  of  the  Middle  Ages  seemed  to 
many  of  the  older  generation  academic  and  fantastic. 
As  the  graduates  of  the  School  entered  the  offices  in 
Boston  and  New  York,  however,  and  then  passed  on  into 
practice,  they  were  found  to  have  a  grasp  of  legal  prin- 
ciples and  a  habit  of  thinking  law  that  was  in  the  highest 
degree  "  practical  ";  and  soon  the  demand  from  lawyers 
for  the  graduates  of  the  School  could  not  be  filled.  Be- 
fore 1890  the  increase  in  the  number  of  students  became 
rapid,  and  by  that  year  the  School  had  outgrown  i>e  new 
building  whi"h  in  1884  had  seemed  large  enough  to  hold 
it  for  a  generation. 

Henceforward  the  history  of  the  School  is  of  growing 
prosperity,  of  steadily  more  rigorous  standards,  and  of 


<     i  ;  ■■ 


ml 


% 


78        THE  lllSTOUY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

numbers  that  eoukl  not  be  kept  down.  With  the  increase 
of  numbers  it  couKl  not  hi'lp  bein^  prosperous  finan- 
cially;  for  since  the  range  of  elective  studies  is  very 
limited  in  sudi  a  sul)ject  as  law,  the  number  of  the 
Faculty  could  never  be  very  large.  The  School  there- 
fore  soon  aciuired  a  large  balance  at  the  Treasurer's 
office;  and  though  salaries  were  raised  to  a  point  con- 
siderably above  the  level  in  the  rest  of  the  University, 
in  1905*  it  was  possible  to  build  a  largo  and  expensive 
building  out  of  the  surplus.  It  was  none  too  soon  for  the 
convenience  of  both  Faculty  and  students,  for  in  1903 
the  President  notes  that  the  number  of  students  had 
increased  four  times  over  that  of  thirty  years  before,  and 
had  doubled  in  ten  years.  In  1908-09  there  wore  six 
hundretl  and  eighty-four  students. 

This  great  increase  was  in  spite  of  steady  heightening 
(,f  the  requirements  for  entrance.    In  1877.  examinations 
for  admission  had  been  instituted  for  all  applicants  who 
were  not  college  graduates.     In  1803  the  Faculty  took 
the  further  step  of  announcing  that  after  ISOl^o  only 
graduates  of  colleges  of  good  standing  and  persons  quali- 
fied to  enter  the  Senior  class  of  Harvard  College  would 
be  admitted  to  the  School  at  all.     In  the  first  year  in 
which  this  vote  went  into  effect  there  was  some  falling 
off  of  numbers  in  the  entering  class,  but  the  increase  very 
soon  began  again.     In  1899  the  Faculty  of  the  School, 
finding  that  the  men  who  entered  with  some  of  their 
work  in  Harvard  College  still  unfinished  were  not  doing 
well,  raised  the  requirement  for  entrance  so  that  men 
fr^m  Harvard  College  must  have  done  all  their  work  for 
the  A.B.  degree  before  entering  the  Law  School.    Since 
that  time  the  School  has  been  strictly  a  graduate  school. 
At  the  same  time  the  Faculty  have  in  various  ways  raised 
the  standard  of  work  in  the  School,  in  order  to  keep  the 


THE  DIVINITY  SCHOOL  79 

numbers  down,  and  to  keep  only  young  men  of  dis- 
tinguished ability. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  administration  Dean  Lang- 
dell  insisted  that  the  Library  of  the  School  was  the  very 
heart  of  legal  education.  If  men  were  to  know  the  com- 
mon law  they  must  have  access  to  the  common  law  as  it 
has  been  worked  out  in  many  courts  in  hundreds  of 
years;  and  the  decisions  of  these  courts  as  recorded  in 
the  reports  must,  therefore,  be  made  accessible.  In 
1870  he  introduced  radical  changes  in  administration, 
both  to  protect  the  books,  and  to  make  them  more  avail- 
able for  study.  The  Dean's  ambition  was  to  bring  the 
Library  back  to  the  position  it  had  held  twenty-five  years 
before,  of  being  the  best  legal  library  in  the  country. 
In  twenty  years  he  could  safely  declare  that  it  had 
reached  that  position,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the 
Congressional  Library  at  Washington.  In  1890  there 
were  25,000  volumes  in  the  Library.  In  1899  this  num- 
ber had  doubled ;  and  in  1909  it  had  again  more  than 
doubled,  and  the  Library  contained  115,000  volumes. 

In  the  Divinity  School  the  slack  academic  ideas  of 
the  mid-nineteenth  century  had  almost  obliterated  stand- 
ards; and  in  1868-69  the  Faculty,  which  had  only  two 
resident  professors,  had  ceased  to  enforce  a  knowledge 
even  of  Greek  and  Latin  for  admission.  In  1869-70  a 
first  step  was  taken  towards  a  restoration  of  the  ideal  of 
scholarship  as  part  of  the  training  of  ministers  by  re- 
storing the  requirement  of  these  languages.  In  the  same 
year  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Divinity,  for  the  first 
time,  was  conferred  after  examination.  Heretofore  no 
degrees  had  been  granted,  but  persons  who  had  spent 
three  years  in  the  School  were  held  to  have  graduated, 
and  were  so  entered  in  the  Triennial  Catalogue.  In 
1870-71  President  Eliot  announced  that  the  Divinity 


'II 


80 


THE  IIISTOUY  OF  THE  T'NIVERSITY 


School  was  to  be  thoroughly  rehaliilitateil ;  and  he  set 
forth  the  principles  which  were  to  govern  the  making 
of  a  scholarly  place  of  training  for  ministers  as  fol- 
lows : — 

The  pulpits  of  the  country  are  not  going  to  be  filled 
by  geniuses;  if  they  were  there  would  l)e  no  need  of 
theological  schools.  ^  They  are  to  be  Jilled  by  common 
men  of  good  natural  parts,  who  have  been  carefully 
trained  for  their  special  work.  These  men  should  be 
scholars  by  temperament,  education,  and  inveterate 
habit,  elsc'their  congregations  will  drain  them  dry  in 
a  year  or  two.  ^Moreover,  ministers,  having  r.onc  of  the 
material  or  adventitious  means  of  gaining  influence  and 
commanding  respect  in  the  community,  need,  both  as 
individuals  and  as  a  class,  all  the  support  and  moral 
strength  which  the  possession  of  ample  learning  can 
give.  To  breed  such  men  of  solid  learning  is  the  main 
function  of  a  theological  school  connected  with  a 
university. 

The  next  year  a  professorship  of  New  Testament 
Criticism  and  History  was  established  and  filled;  it  was 
voted  that  after  1874  no  person  should  l)e  held  to  have 
graduated  at  the  School  unless  he  had  received  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Divinity;  and  a  permanent  li- 
brarian was  appointed  to  care  for  the  collection  of  books, 
which  was  considerable,  but  which  had  suffered  for  lack 
of  care.  In  spite  of  these  improvements  the  number  of 
stuilents  made  no  gain  and  in  1875-7G  it  had  fallen  to 
twelve,  with  three  special  students.  In  that  year  Presi- 
dent Eliot  pointed  out  that  the  proportion  of  ministers 
among  the  graduates  of  the  College  in  the  decade  18G1- 
70  was  less  than  six  per  cent.  The  endowment  of  the 
School  was  small ;  and  when  Professor  Stearns  resigned 
the  Parkman  Professorship  of  Theology  in  1878,  its  in- 
come was  so  meager  that  the  vacancy  could  not  be  filled. 


THE  DIVINITY  SCHOOL 


81 


A  serious  effort  was  therefore  made  to  increase  the 
funds  of  the  School,  and  by  1879  $170,000  had  been 
raised.  For  Mveral  years  the  School  had  limited  its 
pecuniary  aid  to  students  who  had  proved  intellectual 
capacity.  The  number  of  students  had  somewhat  in- 
creased, but  was  still  small.  By  1881-82  it  had  risen 
to  thirty-two. 

In  this  year  the  Faculty  of  the  School,  undeterred  by 
fear  of  again  depleting  it,  voted  to  recommend  to  the 
Corporation  that  only  bachelors  of  arts  be  admitted  to 
regular  standing  in  the  School,  and  that  no  other  per- 
sons be  admitted  as  special  students  except  after  a 
satisfactory  examination  in  Greek  and  Latin.  In  the 
same  year  the  Corporation  voted  to  fill  the  IloUis  Pro- 
fessorship of  Divinity,  which  had  been  kept  vacant  for 
forty-two  years  in  order  that  the  slim  endowment 
might  increase,  and  the  Winn  Professorship  of  Ecclesi- 
astical History.  By  a  fitting  chance  the  new  incumbent 
of  the  HoUis  Professorship,  who  was  a  student  of  Assyri- 
ology  and  other  Semitic  Languages,  was  a  Baptist,  the 
first  incumbent  of  the  chair  to  belong  to  the  same  de- 
nomination as  the  founder.  The  Faculty  of  the  School 
was  now  well  distributed  among  the  denominations,  for 
it  included  three  Unitarians,  two  Baptists,  and  one 
Orthodox  Congregationalist.  It  thus  fairly  fulfilled  its 
profession  of  being  unsectarian,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that, 
because  its  endowment  liad  come  largely  from  Unitarians, 
it  was  understood  that  at  least  two  professors,  including 
one  professor  of  theology,  should  always  be  Unitarians. 

With  this  increase  in  the  Faculty  came  general  pros- 
perity; and  in  1888-89  the  President  noted  that  the 
number  of  students  had  doubled  in  the  last  three  years. 
Six  years  later,  after  frequent  urging  from  the  Presi- 
dent, the  tuition  fee  was  raised  to  $150,  and  theological 


P 


82        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

education  stood  fairly  on  a  plane  with  other  depart- 
ments of  the  University.  INIoreover,  the  School  was  so 
strong  that  this  increase  of  fee  had  no  effect  on  the 
enrolhuent.  Since  that  time  there  has  been  no  serious 
change  of  policy,  but  the  course  has  been  gradually 
strengthened,  especially  in  tlie  direction  of  social  serv- 
ice, "in  1908-09  there  were  thirty-six  students,  repre- 
senting twenty-five  colleges  and  twelve  theological 
seminaries. 

In  1907-08  arrangements  were  completed  by  which  the 
Andover  Theological  Seminary  removed  to  Cambridge, 
and  though  retaining  its  own  organization,  entered  into 
close  affiliation  with  the  Harvard  Divinity  School.  This 
alliance  greatly  strengthened  the  instruction  of  both 
Schools,  and  the  amalgamation  of  their  libraries  pro- 
duced a  collection  of  books  unequaled  in  the  country 
for  the  subjects  which  it  covered.  It  helped  still 
further  to  emphasize  the  purpose  of  the  Harvard  Di- 
vinity School  to  be  non-sectarian. 

The  fortunes  of  applied  science  in  the  University 
have  greatly  varied  during  President  Eliot's  adminis- 
tration,  and  even  the  name  of  the  department  has 
changed.    In  1869  the  purpose  of  the  Lawrence  Scientific 
School  was  ambiguous.    It  had  been  founded  with  very 
liberal  conditions,  which  covered  not  only  the  applica- 
tion of  science  to  practical  arts,  but  instruction  and 
research  in  natural  history,  and  even  left  a  place  for 
advanced  instruction  in  the  classics.^     Its  early  pur- 
pose had  been  largely  shaped  by  the  comprehensive 
mind  and  enormous  energy  of  Louis  Agassiz,  who  was 
brought  from  Switzerland  as  the  first  professor  of  zoology 
and  geology :  the  very  comprehensiveness  of  his  chair— 

^President's  Report,  1846-47,  p.  7;  Annual  Catalogue,  1846-47, 
2d  Term, 


LAWRENCE  SCIENTIFIC  SCHOOL 


83 


Dr.  Holmes  would  have  called  it  a  settee — shows  how 
little  differentiated,  and  how  vague,  the  aims  of  science 
were  two  generations  ago.  For  chemistry  Eben  Norton 
Iloi.rord  was  elected  to  the  Rumford  Professorship  on 
the  Application  of  Science  to  the  Useful  Arts,  which 
had  been  founded  in  1816  under  the  will  of  Benjamin 
Thompson,  Count  Rumford.  In  1849  Henry  Lawrence 
Eustis  (A.B.  1838)  was  elected  to  a  Professorship  of 
Engineering.  In  the  first  few  years  of  the  School  there 
were  regular  departments  of  chemistry,  zoology  and 
geology,  and  engineering ;  but  instruction  was  also  of- 
fered, "  should  a  sufficient  number  of  students  require 
it,"  in  botany,  experimental  philosophy  (now  known 
as  physics),  anatomy  and  physiology,  astronomy,  and 
mathematics.  The  first  announcement  of  the  School, 
in  the  annual  catalogue  of  1846-47,  states  its  purpose 
as  follows: — 

In  the  course  of  the  past  winter,  arrangements  were 
made  by  the  government  of  the  University  for  the  or- 
ganization of  an  advanced  School  of  Science  and  Litera- 
ture. It  is  intended  that  instruction  should  be  given  in 
this  school  to  graduates  and  others,  in  the  various 
branches  of  exact  and  physical  science,  and  in  classical 
learning.  The  pure  and  mixed  ^Mathematics ;  Astron- 
omy, theoretical  and  practical ;  Chemistry,  in  its  various 
branches,  theoretical  and  operative;  Civil  Engineering, 
and  generally  the  application  of  science  to  the  arts  of 
life  and  the  great  industrial  interests  of  the  community, 
with  the  several  branches  of  Natural  Science,  will  be 
pursued  in  the  Scientific  Department.  The  Classical 
Department  will  be  mainly  devoted  to  those  studies 
which  form  the  preparation  for  academic  life. 

Under  the  last  rather  cryptic  sentence  there  seems  to 
have  lain  the  intention  to  establish  instruction  in 
philology  and  other  so-called  scientific  modes  of  studying 


h'l 


p 


m 


84        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

literature,  so  as  to  create  what  we  should  call  to-day  a 
graduate  sehool,   thou^'h  no   re.iuiren.eiit  for  entrance 
was  made  beyond  that  of  age,  which  was  set  at  eighteen 
years.     As  a  matter  of  fact  the  students  in  the  early 
years  came  well  up  to  the  ambitions  of  the  founders; 
probably  no  institution  in  the  country  has  Imd  a  set  of 
students  so  many  of  whom  came  to  distinction  as  those 
in  the  early  years  of  the  Lawrence   Scientific  School. 
The  numl)crs  increased  rapidly  at  first  under  the  stimu- 
lus of  the  novelty  of  the  idea,  the  high  distinction  of  the 
I>rofcssors,  and  the  opportunity  of  escape  from  the  con- 
stricting bonds  of  the  prescribed  system  of  studies,  which 
through  this  period  was  growing  narrower  and  more 
deadening.    Then  came  a  period  of  stationary  numbers 
and  of  uncertainty  of  aim,  in  which  the  Sehool  stood 

in  18G9. 

In  that  year  there  were  forty-three  students,  barely 
more  than  half  the  number  of  three  years  before.    The 
subjects  of  instruction  were  nmch  the  same  as  twenty 
years  before,  except  that  anatomy  and  physiology,  ex- 
perimental philosophy,  and  astronomy  had  disappeared, 
and  mineralogy,  under  Professor  Josiah  P.  Cooke,  Jr., 
had  been  added.     The   formula  in  the  catalogue  con- 
cerning   students    is:    "Professor    Gibbs    will    receive 
Special  Students  to  the  course  in  experimental  chemistry 
and   resea-L-h,   who  will   give   their  attendance   in   the 
Laboraco;  .'  from  8^2  o'clock,  a.m.,  till  4  o'clock,  p.m., 
five  days  in  the  week."    The  instruction  promised,  how- 
ever, included  modern  languages  and  mathematics.    The 
announcement   in   the   other  departments  was  similar. 
In    1S65    Samuel    Hooper    had    endowed    the    Sturgis- 
Ilooper  Professorshij)  of  Ceology,  witli  the  purpose  of 
its  becoming  the  nucleus  of  a  School  of  Mining  and 
Practical  Geology. 


I  I. 


LAWRENCE  SCIENTIFIC  SCHOOL 


85 


The  students  were  listed  in  the  Catalogue  without  dis- 
tinction of  classes,  but  with  their  departments  noted 
after  their  names.  Out  of  forty-one  students  in  the 
catalogue  of  1868-69  only  five  had  degrees ;  twenty-four 
were  in  the  department  of  engineering  or  the  School  of 
Mining.  The  School  seems  t)  have  been  at  this  time 
loosely  organized,  uncertain  in  aims,  and  running  down- 
hill in  point  of  numbers. 

Very  early  in  President  Eliot's  administration 
plans  for  its  reorganization  were  discussed  by  the 
Faculty  of  the  School  and  by  the  Corporation,  and  a 
plan  for  increasing  and  strengthening  the  instruction 
in  the  department  of  engineering,  for  consolidating  the 
chemical  laboratories  of  the  School  and  the  College,  and 
for  making  more  effective  use  of  the  great  advantages 
for  the  teaching  of  natural  history,  were  adopted.  A 
four-years  course  was  provided  in  civil  and  topographi- 
cal engineering,  and  a  professorship  of  topographical 
engineering  added  to  the  Faculty.  With  the  economy 
effected  by  the  consolidation  of  the  two  chemical  labora- 
tories it  was  possible  to  turn  the  Rumford  Professorship 
over  to  physics,  and  so  to  provide  for  instruction  in  the 
subject  of  light  and  heat. 

Under  the  reorganization  of  the  school  four  separate 
courses  were  offered:  1.  A  four-years  course  in  civil 
and  topographical  engineering.  2.  A  three-years  course 
in  theoretical  and  practical  chemistry.  3.  A  one-year 
course  in  the  elements  of  natural  historj',  chemistry, 
and  physics,  intended  especially  for  teachers  or  per- 
sons who  intended  to  become  teachers.  4.  Thorough  in- 
struction for  advanced  students  in  physics,  chemistry, 
zoology,  geology,  botany,  and  mathematics.  For  the  first 
course  a  new  degree  of  Civil  Engineer  was  established. 
The  first  three  years  of  the  four-years  course  in  the 


■  1 
I 


HG        THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 

Mining  School  wore  made  identical  with  those  of  the  en- 
gineering course.  The  next  year  a  four-years  course  in 
mathematics,  physics,  and  astronomy  was  added. 

At  the  same  time  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School  and 
the  Mining  School  were  brought  more  within  the  Uni- 
versity fold  by  opening  the  rooms  in  the  College  dor- 
mitories to  their  students;  and  in  1872-73  their  stu- 
dents received  instruction  in  French  and  German  in 
the  College  classes.  The  standards  of  the  School  were 
made  more  definite  in  1872-73  hy  establishing  examina- 
tions for  admission  similar  to  those  in  the  College,  except 
that  French  or  German  replaced  Greek,  and  the  quan- 
tity of  Latin  was  reduced. 

in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  Faculty  and  the  Cor- 
poration,  however,  the  School  did  not  thrive.     In  1878 
the  number  of  students  had  fallen  to  seventeen.    Un- 
wittingly the  great  improvements  made  by  the  broaden- 
ing of  the  elective  system  and  the  setting  up  of  regular 
work  for  graduates  were  sapping  the  sources  of  supply 
for  students   in   pure   science,   and   tlie   depression   in 
business   had   reduced   the   demand   for  engineers   and 
industrial   chemists.     In   particular  the   provision   for 
the  degrees  of  Ph.D.  and  S.D.  to  be  administered  by  the 
Faculty  of  the  College  had  drawTi  away  most  of  the 
advanced   students   in   pure   science   and   mathematics 
from  the  Scientific  School,  and  the  opening  of  the  Col- 
lege courses  to  mature  special  students  had  drawn  off 
another  class  of  applicants.     In  1879-80,  of  the  nine 
regular  students  (besides  the  seven  special)  five  were  in 
the  engineering  course,  three  in  the  four-years  course  in 
natural  history,  and  one,  the  only  student  of  the  second 
year,  in  the  four-years  course  in  mathematics,  physics, 
and  astronomy. 

In  the  next  few  years  there  was  a  slight  revival  in 


LAWRENCE  SCIENTIFIC  SCHOOL 


87 


numbers,  chiefly  through  the  effect  of  lower  entrance 
requirements  and  of  Icnieney  in  scrutinizing  the  qualifi- 
eations  of  special  students ;  but  by  1886  the  number  of 
students  had  dropped  again  to  fourteen,  which  proved 
to  be  low-water  mark  in  the  history  of  the  School.  In 
1885-86  the  President,  after  pointing  out  that  all  the 
instruction  in  pure  science,  and  almost  aU  of  that  neces- 
sary for  an  engineer,  was  now  open  to  students  of  the 
College,  formally  recommended  that  the  Lawrence 
Scientific  School  should  be  discontinued  as  a  separate 
organization,  the  name  Lawrence  to  be  given  to  a 
building  and  to  one  or  two  professorships,  in  order  to 
preserve  the  memory  of  the  sagacious  purposes  and 
liberality  of  Abbott  and  James  Lawrence,  and  that  the 
degree  of  Civil  Engineer,  based  on  that  of  A.B.  or  S.B., 
should  be  administered  by  the  Academic  Council, 

About  this  time,  however,  in  1885,  a  new  dean  was 
appointed,  under  whose  energetic  management  the 
School  escaped  this  imminent  fate  of  extinction;  and 
beginning  in  1887  the  numbers  of  students  increased,  at 
first  slowly,  and  then  with  !?reat  rapidity.  At  the  end 
of  the  six  years  in  which  Professor  Chaplin  was  Dean 
there  were  one  hundred  and  eighteen  students  in  the 
School,  though  the  number  of  special  students  still  out- 
numbered the  students  in  the  regular  courses.  Of  these 
courses  there  were  now  five:  in  civil  and  topographical 
engineering,  in  chemistry,  in  geology,  in  biology,  and  in 
electrical  engineering ;  all  were  laid  out  to  occupy  four 
years. 

The  deanship  of  Professor  Shaler,  who  succeeded 
Dean  Chaplin  in  1891,  included  the  years  of  the  greatest 
prosperity  of  the  School  as  an  undergraduate  institu- 
tion. The  reorganization  in  1890,  by  which  the  College, 
the  Lawrence  Scientific  School,  and  the  Graduate  School 


M'i 


»    II 


M 


■HI 


88        THE  HISTORY  OF  TIIH  I'MVEnSITY 

of  Arts  and  Sciences  were  administered  by  a  single 
faculty,  each  with  an  administrative  board  of  its  own, 
proved  highly  cfTcctivc.  The  Lawrence  Scientific  School 
now  went  ahead  rapidly,  and  in  the  next  four  years 
there  were  added  new  four-years  courses  in  anatomy, 
physiology  and  physical  training,  architecture,  me- 
chanical engineering,  and  mining  engineering.  In 
1896-97  tlie  number  had  risen  to  over  four  hundred,  with 
a  decreasing  proportion  of  special  students;  and  it  was 
decided  in  that  year  to  raise  the  requirements  for  en- 
trance by  five  annual  increments  until  they  were  even 
•with  those  of  the  College.  The  next  year  the  Corporation 
decided  to  build  for  the  School  the  much  needed  new 
quarters,  out  of  the  great  unrestricted  bequest  of  Henry 
L.  Pierce.  At  the  same  time  a  building  on  Holmes  Field, 
which  had  been  built  originally  for  athletics  when  the 
track  was  on  that  field  and  the  baseball  diamond  on 
Jarvis,  was  altered  over  into  a  laboratory  for  the  courses 
in  mining  and  metallurgy. 

Thus  the  School  went  on,  constantly  increasing  in 
usefulness  and  numbers.  Courses  in  landscape  archi- 
tecture were  added  in  1900-01,  and  in  forestry  in  1903-04. 
When  Professor  Shalcr  died  in  1906  there  had  been  for 
several  years  more  than  five  hundred  students  in  the 
school. 

The  final  stage  in  the  history  of  the  School  under 
President  Eliot  was  reached  in  1905-06.  Then,  with  the 
immediate  prospect  of  the  receipt  of  the  first  install- 
ment of  one  million  dollars  from  the  Gordon  McKay  be- 
quest, a  complete  reorganization  of  the  instruction  in 
applied  science  was  effected.  The  Lawrence  Scientific 
School  went  out  of  existence,  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Science  was  established  in  Harvard  College,  and  a 
Graduate  School   of  Applied  Science   was  created  to 


I  •■ 


THE  BUSSEY  INSTITUTION 


89 


give  degrees  in  engineering,  mining  and  metallurgy, 
architecture,  landscape  architecture,  forestry,  applied 
chemistry,  applied  biology,  and  applied  geology,  but  to 
holders  of  a  bachelor's  degree  only.  Thus  was  brought 
to  practical  consummation  President  Eliot's  vision  of  a 
university  in  which,  on  the  foundation  of  a  great  and 
strong  college  of  liberal  arts,  should  be  built  up  pro- 
fessional schools  which  should  give  training  in  all  the 
intellectual  professions. 

The  history  of  the  other  department  which  was  incor- 
porated with  the  Graduate  School  of  Applied  Science  in 
1905,  the  Bussey  Institution,  is  interesting,  though  check- 
ered. It  was  organized  in  1870-71  from  a  fund  left  by 
Benjamin  Bussey,  who  died  in  1842,  leaving  a  large 
estate  to  the  University  after  the  lapse  of  certain  an- 
nuities, a  part  of  it  to  found  a  school  of  horticulture  and 
agriculture.  President  Eliot  defined  the  aims  of  the 
Institution  as  follows: — 

The  single  object  of  the  School  is  to  promote  and 
diffuse  a  thorough  knowledge  of  Agriculture  and  Horti- 
culture. Young  men  who  propose  to  be  farmers  or 
gardeners,  or  who  expect  to  have  charge  of  large  landed 
estates  or  ornamental  grounds,  whether  private  or 
public  will  find  at  this  School  instruction  suited  to  their 
needs  '  and  amply  illustrated  by  the  rich  scientific  col- 
lections of  the  University,  and  by  a  botanic  garden,  a 
large  and  profitable  farm,  green-houses,  propagating 
houses,  and  field  experiments. 

Francis  Parkman  (A.B.  1844).  the  historian,  was  the 
first  professor  of  horticulture,  and  there  were  two  other 

professors. 

The  project  was  ahead  of  its  times,  however,  and  in 
the  second  year  of  its  organization  President  Eliot 
pointed  out  that  even  the  regular  agricultural  colleges 


t 


!' 


■  I    ' 

:  ,i 


90 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY 


ol"  the  country  had  nut  yt't  ti'eattd  a  demand  for  thorough 
instruction  in  a<„'ri<ulture.  That  demand  did  not  really 
develop  for  more  than  twenty  years,  oven  in  the  states 
of  the  West  where  the  ai?ricultural  colleges  are  now  so 
strong.  The  Uussey  Institution,  therefore,  ran  a  quiet 
course,  eariying  on  a  certain  amount  of  research,  and 
training  a  small  number  of  students,  in  part  young  men 
■who  were  to  earn  their  living  on  the  farm  or  as  gar- 
deners, in  part  young  men  of  a  more  ornamental  type, 
who  for  one  reason  or  another  did  not  gain  admission 
to  Harvard  College. 

The  Uussey  Institution  was  overshndowed  by  its.  neigh- 
bor, the  Arnold  Arboretum.  In  the  spring  of  1872 
the  trustees  under  the  will  of  James  Arnold  gave 
$100,000  to  establish  an  arboretum,  on  condition  that 
the  University  should  grant  the  land.  Accordingly  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  great  estate  at  Forest  Hills 
which  had  been  left  by  Benjamin  Bussey  to  the  Univer- 
sity was  set  aside  for  the  purpose ;  and  under  the  energy 
and  learning  of  Professor  Charles  Sprague  Sargent 
(A.B.  1862),  who  succeeded  Francis  Parkman  as  Pro- 
fessor of  Horticulture  in  1872,  and  was  made  the  first, 
and  so  far  the  only,  Arnold  Professor  of  Arboriculture  in 
1879,  it  has  become  a  very  important  station  for  the 
acclimatization  and  the  study  of  trees  and  shrubs. 

In  1903-04  a  more  effective  use  for  the  Bussey  Institu- 
tion began  to  develop.  By  that  time  it  had  become 
clear  that  the  situation  of  the  lands  in  the  suburb  of  a 
large  city,  with  city  conditions  rapidly  growing  out 
around  them,  made  the  site  impracticable  for  an  ordi- 
nary agricultural  college.  The  coming  of  Dr.  Theobald 
Smith  to  the  University  in  1894-95,  as  Professor  of  Com- 
parative Pathology,  made  necessary  some  place  where 
his  work  could  be  carried  on ;  and  in  1903-04  a  special 


THE  BITSSEY  INSTIVUTION 


91 


laboratory  was  built  for  him  at  tho  bussoy  Institution, 
where  under  his  direction,  but  at  the  expense  of  the 
State  Board  of  Health,  diphtheria  nnti-toxiu  was  pro- 
duced for  use  of  the  physicians  of  tii»'  State.     In  the 
mean  time  the  income  of  the  Bussey  Institution,  which 
had  been  greatly  impaired  by  the  Boston  Hre  of  1872, 
was  too  small  for  any  development  of  the  work.     Ac- 
cordingly, when  graduate  work  in  the  Lawrence  Scien- 
tific School  was  merged  in  the  Graduate  School  of  Ap- 
plied Science,  it  was  proposed  to  use  the  Bussey  Insti- 
tution as  a  place  for  advanced  instruction  and  research 
in  applied  biology.     In  1907-08  the  Corporation  voted 
to  discontinue  the  Bussey  Institution  as  a  place  of  under- 
graduate instruction.    New  appointments  to  its  Faculty 
were  wade,  eit'/      * )'  election  or  by  transfer  from  other 
departments  of  t      University,  and  it  was  transformed 
at  a  stroke  from  an  almop*  supernumerary  department 
to  a  most  productive  and  profitable  institution  for  ad- 
vanced instruction  and  research  in  "  four  subjects  of 
applied  Science  which  are  of  fundamental  importance 
in  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  arboriculture,  namely, 
economic  entomology,  plant  breeding,  animal  breeding, 
and  comparative  pathology."* 

*  President's  Report,  1907-08,  p.  31. 


;  I      : 


-il. 


1  J  i 


II 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


The  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  The  Elective  System.  Aca- 
demic Distinctions.  Discipline.  Admission.  Undergraduate  Life. 
Athletics.  Intellectual  Avocations.  Religion  and  Philanthropy. 
Clubs  and  Societies.    Dormitories.    Class  Organization. 


ih 


With  this  brief  survey  of  the  history  of  the  University 
before  us,  we  can  now  turn  to  consider  it  as  it  is  to-day. 
I  shall  begin  by  an  account  of  Harvard  College,  first 
describing  the  academic  side  and  the  system  of  admin- 
istration and  instruction,  then  the  social  life  and  other 
activities  of  undergraduates  outside  their  studies;  then 
I  shall  pass  on  to  the  work  of  the  various  graduate 
schools,  and  to  the  library  and  museums  and  other 
scientific  establishments  of  the  University.  It  is  to  be 
remembered  that,  though  Harvard  College  makes  more 
impression  on  the  imagination  both  of  graduates  and 
the  public,  yet  the  work  of  the  graduate  schools  and 
the  product  of  research  conducted  therein  are  in  them- 
selves sometimes  of  more  lasting  importance.  The  fact, 
however,  that  this  product  is  nowadays  often  technical 
and  recondite,  makes  it  hard  to  render  a  just  account 
of  it  for  a  general  audience. 

Harvard  College,  "  the  oldest,  the  most  essential,  and 
the  most  beloved  department  of  Harvard  University," 
as  President  Eliot  once  called  it,  is  to-day  administered 
by  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  This  Faculty  ad- 
ministers also  the  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences, 
the  Summer  School,  and  the  work  in  University  Ex- 
OS 


!'., 


"■4! 


■'I   . 


i'  f 


!■!" 


it 


FACULTY  OP  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES        93 

tension.  It  consists  of  all  teachers  in  those  depart- 
ments whose  appointment  is  for  more  than  a  single  year, 
and  it  includes  four  deans:  the  Dean  of  the  Faculty  the 
Dean  of  Harvard  College,  the  Dean  of  the  Graduate 
School  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  the  Dean  for  Univer- 
sity Extension.  In  1911-12  there  were  on  its  lists 
one  hundred  and  forty-nine  professors,  associate  pro- 
fessors, assistant  professors,  one  lecturer,  and  twenty- 
five  instructors,  making,  with  a  few  administrative  offi- 
cers, a  total  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  members. 

The  Faculty  meets  in  the  large  Faculty  Room  in  Uni- 
'  jrsity  Hall,  once  the  College  chapel,  and  now,  with  its 
iound-top  windows  on  each  side,  and  portraits  of  pro- 
fessors and  founders  of  professorships,  the  handsomest 
room  m  the  University.    Among  the  portraits  are  several 
of  distinction  as  paintings,  including  the  fine  Copley 
portrait  of  John  Winthrop.  Hollis  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics and  Natural  Philosophy  from  1738  to  1779,  and 
the  portraits  of  Sir  Matthew  Ilolworthy,  th-  benefactor 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  of  his  wife,  both  by  Sir 
Peter  Lely.     There  are  also  portraits  of  James  Russell 
Lowell,  Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow,  and  a  number 
of  other  professors.    At  intervals  along  the  walls  there 
are  a  number  of  busts,  in  marble,  bronze,  or  plaster,  of 
professors  and  other  officers,  including  a  fine  marble 
bust  of  President  Eliot ;  and  there  are  bronze  bas-relief 
portraits  of  Professor  Francis  James  Child  and  Alex- 
ander Agassiz. 

The  members  sit  at  long  tables  or  on  settees  along  the 
sides  of  the  room.  Before  the  meetings,  tea  is  served 
m  one  of  the  adjoining  rooms,  and  there  members  can 
gather  for  a  little  talk  before  the  meeting,  which  not 
infrequently  runs  on  into  the  time  when  business  is 
begun.    The  Faculty  is  well  provided  with  silver  plate. 


i\ 

■-.  1 

Hi 


94 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


It  ordinarily  uses  for  those  weekly  meetings  a  beautiful 
set  which  was  presented  some  years  ago  to  Professor 
John  Knowles  Paine,  Professor  of  ]\Iusic,  and  was  given 
by  his  widow  to  tlie  College  for  the  use  of  the  Faculty. 

Much  of  the  routine  business  which  comes  before  the 
Faculty  has  already  been  prepared  for  it  by  the  several 
administrative  boards  and  needs  only  a  formal  vote. 
Other  matters,  including  all  general  questions  of  policy, 
are  debated  at  length.  Us'ially  the  Faculty  has  on  hand 
some  important  (luestion,  such  as  a  change  in  the  require- 
ments for  admission,  or  in  the  rules  for  the  choice  of 
electives,  or  in  the  requirements  of  residence  for  the 
degree,  which  go  to  the  root  of  education,  and  in  these 
cases  the  discussion  is  long  and  thorough.  For  suc»  ucs- 
tions  the  ground  is  ordinarily  prepared  by  a  committee, 
which  in  important  matters  may  take  a  year  or  two  for 
discussion  before  bringing  in  their  report.  In  so  large 
a  body  as  the  Faculty  all  practicable  views,  and  some 
that  are  impracticable,  are  sure  to  be  presented,  and  all 
arc  considered  thoroughly  and  at  length.  The  educative 
value  of  these  discussions  is  great,  and  they  make  power- 
fully for  unity  in  a  large  body  in  which,  because  of  its 
division  into  departments,  there  is  always  some  danger 
that  every  man  may  go  his  own  way. 

The  attendance  at  Faculty  meetings  varies  considerably 
with  the  subject.  Some  members  are  assiduous  and  regu- 
lar, the  faces  of  others  arc  unknown  to  the  Secretary. 
On  important  questions  the  vote  usually  includes  a  very 
large  proportion  of  the  whole  Faculty.  All  votes  which 
involve  serious  clianges  of  policy  must  go  to  the  Cor- 
poration and  Overseers  for  their  assent.  This  provision 
for  the  nnproval  of  the  governing  bodies  is  by  no  means 
perfunctory,  for  both  Corporation  and  Overseers  take  a 
very  active  interest  in  the  growth  of  the  University,  and, 


FACULTY  OF  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES        95 


though  the  cases  are  infrequent,  tlie  Overseers  occa- 
sionally send  back  a  vote  to  the  Faculty  for  further 
consideration. 

The  ordinary  course  of  promotion  in  the  Faculty  is 
fairly  regular.  A  young  man  is  apt  to  enter  the  service 
as  an  assistant  in  one  of  the  larger  courses  while  he  is 
studying  in  the  G 'aduate  School.  Here  he  works  under 
the  direction  of  an  experienced  teacher,  and  if  he  proves 
his  value  at  this  work,  he  is  likely  within  a  few  years 
to  be  promoted  to  an  instructorship  on  a  regular  ap- 
pointment. Most  of  these  instructors  have  already 
taken  the  Ph.D.  If  he  still,  in  this  new  field  of  proba- 
tion, .shows  himself  a  good  teacher  and  maintains  his 
promise  as  a  scholar,  and  if  the  Corporation  can  be 
convinced  that  the  department  needs  a  new  man  and 
there  are  funds  to  support  him,  the  young  man  is  then 
promoted  to  the  Faculty  as  an  instructor  without  limit 
of  term.  In  this  position  he  serves  for  a  varying  num- 
ber of  years,  usually  not  more  than  five,  and  then  if 
he  still  seems  to  be  made  of  good  professor  stuff,  he  is 
appointed  assistant  professor  for  five  years.  Ordi- 
narily he  serves  two  terms  of  five  years  as  assistant 
professor  before  being  promoted  to  his  professorship ; 
but  in  the  case  of  brilliant  men  the  election  to  the  per- 
manent position  may  come  earlier. 

The  future  professor  who  thus  gradually  works  up 
from  his  graduate  scliool  is  very  often  a  graduate  of 
another  college  than  Harvard.  The  large  staff  of  assist- 
ants in  the  elementary  courses  has  proved  an  excellent 
preventive  of  inbreeding;  for  it  furnishes  a  constant 
supply  of  men  from  a  great  variety  of  colleges  all  over 
the  country  who  can,  after  this  careful  and  rapid  prov- 
ing, be  brought  into  the  Faculty.  x\t  the  same  time  the 
Corporation,  from  time  to  time,  elects  directly  to  profes- 


■ 
'if 

.  " 

I' 

t 


iir; 


i  if 

m 


96 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


sorships  men  wlio  have  made  their  mark  elsewhere.  As  a 
result,  the  Faculty  has  wide  range  and  great  diversity 
of  experience.  When  President  Eliot  retired,  in  1909, 
of  the  nine  deans  in  the  University  five  had  received 
their  first  degrees  elsewhere  than  at  Harvard;  and  in 
1911-12,  out  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  members  of  the 
Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences  there  were  fifty-eight  who 
either  had  received  their  first  degrees  elsewhere,  or  had 
no  university  degree.  This  great  variety  in  the  origins 
of  its  teachers  is  a  marked  characteristic  of  Harvard 
University  to-day. 

Within  the  last  few  years  the  position  of  professors 
has  been  greatly  improved  by  the  establishment  of  a 
pension  system.  In  1899,  six  years  before  the  creation 
of  tiie  Carnegie  Foundation,  Harvard  University  re- 
ceived an  anonymous  gift,  from  the  income  of  which 
retiring  allowances  for  professors  were  instituted.  Un- 
der the  rules  as  originally  established  by  the  Corpora- 
tion at  that  time,  a  professor  or  other  officer  of  like 
character  who  had  been  in  service  for  twenty  years 
could  retire  at  his  own  will  when  he  reached  the  age 
of  sixty  years,  with  an  allowance  ranging  from  one 
third  to  two  thirds  of  his  salary  at  the  time  of  retiring. 
At  the  same  time,  it  was  provided  that  the  Corporation 
could  on  their  part  retire  a  professor  with  an  allow- 
ance at  the  age  of  sixty-six.  Under  the  rules  of  the 
Carnegie  Foundation,  in  which  Harvard  University 
shares,  the  age  for  voluntary  retirement  is  sixty-five, 
and  provision  is  made  for  the  widows  of  professors. 
Through  an  arrangement  with  the  Trustees  of  the  Car- 
negie Foundation,  the  Corporation  is  able  to  give  to  a 
retiring  professor  the  benefit  of  whichever  set  of  rules 
happens  to  be  more  favorable  to  him.  The  rules  for  re- 
tiring   allowances   apply    hIso   to   librarians,    assistant 


FACULTY  OF  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES        97 

librarians,   curators  and  assistants  in  scientific  estab- 
lishments, and  administrative  oflScers  of  long  tonure. 


For  purposes  of  instruction  and  administration  the 
Faculty  is  organized  into  eighteen  divisions.  Of  these 
divisions  several  include  two  or  more  departments:  the 
Division  of  Ancient  Languages,  for  example,  includes  the 
Departments  of  Indie  Philology  and  of  the  Classics,  and 
the  Division  of  Modern  Languages  the  Departments  of 
English,  of  the  Germani^'  Languages  and  Literatures, 
of  French  and  other  Ro.aance  Languages  and  Litera- 
tures, and  of  Comparative  Literature.  Where  the  de- 
partments are  distinct  from  the  divisions  the  functions 
of  the  division  are  usually  confined  to  the  direction  of 
graduate  work,  such  as  making  recommendations  for 
graduate  scholarships  and  fellowships,  and  conducting 
the  examinations  for  the  higher  degrees.  So  far  as 
Harvard  College  is  -concerned,  the  department  is  usually 
the  working  unit. 

The  department  is  necessarily  an  intimate  body,  in 
which  discussion  is  carried  on  with  the  greatest  freedom 
and  informality.  Each  year  the  department  must  con- 
sider what  courses  it  will  recommend  to  the  Faculty 
for  the  ensuing  year,  and  it  must  go  over  its  lists  of 
assistants  and  instructors,  and  make  selections  for 
recommendation  to  the  Corporation.  The  department 
also  carries  on  the  examinations  for  uegrees  with  dis- 
tinction and  makes  recommendations  to  the  Faculty. 
With  the  increase  in  the  numbers  of  the  Faculty  and  the 
advance  of  specialization,  the  departments  and  divi- 
sions tend  to  become  more  important,  but  there  is  a 
strong  feeling  that  the  functions  of  the  Faculty  as  a 
whole  must  be  preserved  in  order  that  growth  may  be 
even  and  proportionate. 


i 


m 


n 


98 


nARV^\RD  COLLEGE 


Tlio  chairineu  of  tho  divisions  and  departiiicuts  aro 
appointed  by  a  committee  consisting  of  tlie  President 
and  the  several  deans  in  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and 
Sciences.  The  chairmanship  is  not  ordinarily  held  by 
one  man  for  more  than  five  or  six  years,  and  it  is  by  no 
means  always  held  by  the  senior  member  of  the  depart- 
ment, for  it  is  primarily  a  working  office.  Indeed  the 
chairmen  at  times  are  inclined  to  think  of  themselves 
as  choremen,  they  transact  such  a  quantity  of  small 
business  for  the  department.  The  chairman  is  respon- 
sible to  the  President  for  the  budget  of  his  department; 
he  speaks  for  the  department  in  all  recommendations 
for  appointments,  or  for  the  enlargement  of  the  work 
of  the  department ;  he  carries  on  all  correspondence 
relating  to  that  work,  especially  with  applicants  for 
graduate  study  or  scholarships,  and,  in  general,  is  the 
executive  head  of  the  department.  The  position  carries 
honor  and  hard,  often  trivial,  work  in  about  equal  pro- 
portions. An  enterprising  chairman  may  be  of  extraor- 
dinary value  to  his  department,  for  on  him  f'-Us  ulti- 
mately the  responsibility  for  finding  the  youngor  men 
through  whom  the  departmrnt  of  the  future  will  b.-*  juilt 
up.  If  his  judgment  is  poor  or  if  he  trusts  to  other  men 
to  search  out  tlie  best,  his  department  may  suddenly 
find  itself,  through  unexpected  deaths  or  resignations, 
in  the  position  of  having  no  strong  young  men  with 
whom  to  fill  gaps.  The  chairman  of  a  department  needs 
not  only  business  capacity,  but  large  foresight  for  the 
future. 


Since  1887  instruction  has  been  offered  by  these  de- 
partments and  divisions  to  students  in  Harvard  Col- 
lege under  a  froo  olpptivo  system.  Between  1887  and 
1910  there  were  no  restrictions  on  the  choice  of  students 


THE  ELECTIVE  SYSTEM 


99 


except  the  requirement  that  all  stiwlcnts  should  loam 
to  write  their  own  hmguage  with  respectable  correct- 
ness and  fluency,  and  that  they  should,  either  at  school 
or  in  college,  have  acquired  the  rudiments  of  French  and 
German.  Besides  these  the  only  limitations  of  choice 
lay  in  the  necessary  se(|uenee  from  elementary  to  ad- 
vanced courses  in  the  various  subjects.  In  each  year  a 
student  takes  from  four  to  six  courses.  The  require- 
ment for  the  degree  is  sixteen  courses  of  elective  work 
plus  what  English  comi)Osition  is  prescribed  for  the 
individual  student;  and  these  courses  may  be  distributed 
over  three,  three  and  one-half,  or  four  years.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  since  the  standard  of  the  courses  must 
not  be  too  high  for  students  in  the  lower  quarter  of 
the  class,  students  of  average  capacity  or  better  can 
easily  manage  more  than  the  minimum  requirement.  In 
these  days,  when  the  professional  courses  have  been 
lengthened  to  three  years  in  the  Law  School  and  four 
years  in  the  Medical  School,  and  a  degree  is  refpiired  for 
entrance  to  them  and  to  the  Schools  of  Applied  Science 
and  Business  Administration,  a  considerable  number  of 
young  men  complete  their  undergraduate  work  in  three 
years.  A  somewhat  larger  number  complete  it  in  three 
and  one-half  years,  and  use  the  half  year  so  gained  for 
travel  or  for  getting  started  in  business.  The  elasticity 
of  the  present  arrangement  fits  well  with  the  great 
variation  in  the  mental  capacity  or  intellectual  develop- 
ment of  undergraduates.  No  set  of  young  men  from 
eighteen  to  twenty-one  years  old  will  ever  be  evenly 
grown  up,  and  any  rigid  system  is  bound  to  make  the 
work  eitlier  too  easy  for  the  brighter  and  more  mature 
or  too  hard  for  those  who  are  slow  or  late  in  developing. 
In  1910  the  free  elective  system  was  somewhat  modi- 
fied by  requiring  all  luidergraduates  to  use  the  system 


^ 


h\ 


n 


n 


!  *i 


100 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


as  all  sensible  undergraduates  had  always  used  it.  Un- 
der rules  estublished  in  that  year  the  subjects  of  instruc- 
tion are  divided  into  four  large  groups:  (1)  language, 
literature,  fine  arts,  and  nmsie ;  (2)  natural  sciences; 
(3)  history,  political,  and  social  science;  and  (4)  phi- 
losophy and  niatheuiaties.  The  now  rules  require  each 
student  to  take  at  least  six  out  of  the  sixteen  elective 
courses  re(iuired  for  the  degree  in  some  one  department 
or  in  elosely  related  departments,  and  to  distribute  an- 
other six  foursos  among  the  three  large  groups  named 
above  in  whieh  his  chief  work  does  not  lie.  Thus  each 
student  must  get  a  fairly  thorough  knowledge  of  a  sin- 
gle subject,  and  at  the  same  time  he  must  have,  at  any 
rate,  a  bowing  aeciuaintanec  with  the  other  chief  fields 
of  knowledge. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  these  new  rules  for  the 
choice  of  eleetives  is  that  which  requires  all  students 
before  the  end  of  the  Fresliman  year  to  choose  the 
subjeets  whieh  they  will  study  through  the  latter  years 
of  college.  To  aid  them  in  making  this  choice,  each  is 
assigned  to  an  adviser  in  the  Faculty.  At  present  each 
adviser  has  not  more  than  four  students  from  each 
class,  but  his  relations  with  those  four  students  con- 
tinue throughout  the  college  course.  Thus  the  student 
is  fairly  sure  of  interest  and  advice  from  a  friend  who 
knows  him  and  his  needs.  Each  student  must  submit 
his  list  of  studios  to  his  adviser  for  approval  before  it 
is  sent  to  the  Committee  on  Choice  of  Eleetives  for 
final  aecoptanoe.  Where  a  student  wishes  sanction  for 
deviations  from  the  rules,  he  must  convince,  or  try  to 
convince,  his  adviser  of  the  wisdom  of  the  exception 
before  going  to  the  committee.  The  advisers,  having 
each  so  few  students  to  care  for,  have  a  sincere  interest 
in  their  work  and  give  time  and  thought  to  the  problems 


THE  ELECTIVE  SYSTEM 


101 


of  the  individual  student.  VVitiiin  a  few  years,  a  phi- 
losoplier,  tlie  range  and  profundity  of  whose  thought 
have  made  liiui  known  all  over  the  world,  made  a  con- 
siderable number  of  visits  to  the  CoUejje  Oflice  in  order 
that  he  hiijjht  be  able  to  work  out  intelligently  the  details 
of  the  courses  of  the  four  young  men  to  whom  he  was 
adviser. 

Tliese  rules  are  administered  !)y  a  eonnnitteo  of  the 
Faculty  of  which  at  present  the  President  is  chairman. 
Under  the  instruction  of  the  Faculty  when  the  rules 
were  adopted,  this  committee  is  charged  to  look  on 
flexibility  in  the  administration  of  the  rules  as  an  essen- 
tial part  of  the  system.  Any  student  who  desires  to 
make  a  deviation  from  the  rules  which  will  give  him  a 
better,  rather  than  a  worse,  education,  is  always  sure  to 
have  his  petition  granted;  and  any  student  who.  as  he 
passes  on  in  his  course,  suddenly  wakes  up  to  the  in- 
terest of  a  new  subject,  may  make  a  change  in  his  gen- 
eral choice  if  that  change  will  not  wholly  wreck  his 
chances  for  a  sy.stematic  education.  The  aim  of  the 
committee,  as  of  the  Faculty,  is  to  insure  that  the  rules 
shall  help  every  student  to  the  best  use  of  his  oppor- 
tunities, and  therefore  liberal  exceptions  are  made  to 
this  end.  Where  so  large  a  number  of  students  are  gath- 
ered together,  with  so  great  variation  in  age  and  pre- 
vious training,  there  are  inevitably  exceptional  cases 
in  which  rigid  rules  would  work  hardship ;  but  a  general 
principle  sympathetically  applied  will  dispose  of  a  mul- 
titude of  exceptions.  The  rules  have  been  in  force  only 
since  September,  1911,  but  so  far  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  them  successful  in  operation. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  rules  are  merely  an  appli- 
cation to  all  students  of  the  practice  of  the  g^-eat  ma- 
jority of  students  in  the  past.     Within  the  last  thirty 


«        ( 


If  i 


riJ 
if 


nj 


llCJ 


llAHVAUn  COLLKGE 


years  there  liave  been  two  exhaustive  studies  of  the 
results  of  the  elective  system  at  Harvard,  eaeh  of  which 
has  proved  that  tlie  number  of  students  who  have  abused 
their  priviloi,'es  under  tlie  system  has  been  very  small. 
Moreover,  when  the  new  rules  were  ado[)ted  by  the 
Faculty,  figures  were  presinted,  based  on  the  rocorda 
of  recent  preceding?  classes,  which  showed  that  with  a 
very  small  change  in  the  choice  of  studies  by  these 
classes,  the  rules  would  have  covered  almost  all  of  their 
members.  Contrary  to  the  general  opinion,  the  chief 
abuse  of  the  elective  system  has  not  come  from  the 
loafers  and  seeUera  for  the  primrose  path,  but  from 
students  with  excessive  zeal  for  study.  There  were  not 
infrequent  cases  of  students  with  a  passion  for  the 
classics,  or  for  chemistry,  or  for  some  other  single 
branch  of  human  knowledge,  so  excessive  as  to  smoti-jr 
their  .sense  of  proportion.  Such  men  might  go  through 
college  working  with  the  best  of  consciences,  and  come 
out  at  the  end  ignorant  except  in  their  single  subject. 
The  injury  of  an  unguarded  elective  system  to  such  men 
was  indubitable. 

As  to  the  other  kind,  the  men  who  look  on  college 
chiefly  as  an  agreeable  club  with  a  pleasant  athletic 
tinge,  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  will  imbibe  more 
knowledge  when  they  are  led  up  to  particular  fountains 
than  when  they  are  left  to  choose  for  themselves  among 
a  larger  number.  Since  education  began  there  have  al- 
ways been  young  men  who  have  wasted  years  which 
might  have  been  made  precious ;  and  it  is  not  likely  that 
the  wisdom  of  faculties  will  ever  in  this  respect  re-create 
the  race.  At  the  English  universities  there  are  still  col- 
leges which  are  recognized  as  havens  for  the  ornamental ; 
and  in  Germany,  it  is  taken  as  a  matter  of  course  that 
considerable  numbers  of  students  shall  spend  a  year  or 


THE  electivp:  system 


103 


two  drinking  b«'or  and  dcfornting  tln'ir  I'hccs  with  sword 
slashes  befon  tiicy  sottlf  down  to  the  serious  work  of 
getting  their  degrees.  In  Ameriea  human  nature  is 
much  the  same  as  it  is  in  Europe,  and  so  long  as  many 
Americans  continue  to  look  on  three  or  four  years  at 
college  as  a  vested  privilege  of  the  suns  «»f  the  well-to-do, 
all  systems  of  education,  whether  pnserihed  or  elective, 
will  be  abused  by  some  students.  I'nder  a  free  elective 
system  it  is  surprising  io  see  liow  many  of  these  volatile 
youths  quite  unintentionally  pick  up  a  strong  interest 
in  some  subject  that  they  would  never  have  known 
about  except  for  the  elective  system. 

All  new  courses  of  in.struction  must  pass  the  gauntlet, 
first  of  the  department,  and  then  of  the  Committee  on 
Instruction,  before  appearing  in  the  Elective  Pamphlet. 
The  Committee  on  Instruction  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant standing  committees  of  the  Faculty.  It  scruti- 
nizes with  great  care  all  proposals  for  changes  or 
novelties  in  instruction,  and  not  infrequently  refers 
them  back  to  the  departments  for  further  discussion  or 
for  explanation.  The  care  and  judgment  exerci.scd  by 
this  committee  are  tlie  ■A.L'i  safeguards,  so  far  as  the 
Faculty  is  concerned,  for  an  even  growth  of  the  in- 
struction offered,  and  for  a  due  sense  of  proportion  and 
of  the  relations  between  different  subjects.  The  com- 
mittee is  large,  for  it  must  represent  all  fields  of  knowl- 
edge. It  always  includes  some  of  the  wisest  and  most 
experienced  members  of  the  Faculty. 


The  method  of  instruction  in  so  great  a  range  of  sub- 
jects of  necessity  varies  greatly  with  the  subjects.  In 
general,  however,  the  type  of  instruction  in  Han-ard 
College  is  by  lectures,  reinforced  by  laboratory  work 
or  other  exercises  of  similar  aim.    In  the  lar^?:  elemen- 


104 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


taiy  courses,  in  history  or  literature  or  economics,  for 
example,  lectures  usually  oecui)y  two  out  of  three  meet- 
ings a  week ;  and  for  the  third  hour  the  class  is  divided 
into  small  sections  of  twenty  to  thirty  students  under 
the  eharfic  of  an  assistant.  Each  student  has  a  certain 
amount  of  reading  to  do.  and  in  most  courses  some  small 
invcstifration  to  undertake,  the  making  of  a  hibliography 
perhaps,  or  the  preparation  of  a  report  or  thesis  on 
some  special  suhjtH't  out  of  material  which  he  must  seek 
in  a  number  of  sources.  In  this  way  the  courses  in  which 
the  students'  work  nuist  be  chiefly  in  books  give  the 
same  sort  of  training  in  hunting  for  facts  that  the  lab- 
oratory courses  give. 

The  section  meetings  of  the  large  courses  are  a 
highly  important  part  of  the  system  of  instruction,  and 
one  which  has  been  greatly  developed  of  recent  years. 
Sometimes  the  section  meeting  begins  with  a  short 
written  paper;  sometimes,  especially  in  economics  and 
government,  the  instructor  will  start  a  debate  on  the 
application  of  some  principle  which  has  been  laid  down 
in  the  lecture,  calling  upon  members  of  the  section  to 
express  their  views  and  to  work  out  the  application  of 
the  principles;  sometimes  there  will  be  quizzes  on  pre- 
scribed reading;  sometimes  the  assistant  will  lecture 
for  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the  hour  on  some  point  of 
detail.  In  general,  'hese  section  meetings  are  kept 
flexible  and  a  good  deal  is  left  to  the  discretion  and 
ingenuity  of  the  individual  instructor.  The  main  point 
of  his  work  is  that  he  shall  bring  home  to  each  individ- 
ual in  his  section  the  meaninj>  and  application  of  the 
principles  laid  down  by  tlie  professor  at  the  head  of 
the  course;  and  it  is  the  business  of  the  "  section  man," 
as  the  students  call  him,  to  rcf^  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
course  sinks  in   and  to  set  if^'u-idnals  to  thinking.    In 


METHOD  OP  INSTRUCTION 


105 


most  departments  the  elementary  courses  art;  adequately 
manned  with  assistants.  The  added  responsibility  for 
the  head  of  the  course  is  considerable.  He  must  not 
only  be  p  -...-iii  of  learning  and  an  authority  in  his  sub- 
ject, b  it  lie  must  be  a  judge  of  men  and  a  good  or- 
ganize If  ]ie  lias  Ibe  imagination  and  the  foresight  to 
pick  00 i  yo'.ing  meu  who  are  stimulating  teachers,  his 
course  becomes  a  j-.ower  in  stirring  students  to  thought. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  be  contented  with  smooth 
routine,  his  course  may  become  humdrum  and  ineffec- 
tive. 

At  the  .same  time,  this  system  is  of  the  greatest  value 
in  training  up  new  men  for  the  Faculty.  A  graduate 
student  who  is  brilliant  in  his  subject  may  or  may  not  be 
a  good  leacher.  In  these  large  courses,  if  he  has  promise, 
he  is  given  the  clianci;  to  try  himself  under  instruction 
and  observation;  and  the  head  of  a  large  course  can 
very  soon  tell  by  comparing  grades  and  noting  the  writ- 
ten work  done  in  different  sections  whether  an  assist- 
ant is  useful  or  not.  Thus  a  considerable  number  of 
young  men  are  having  excellent  training  as  teachers, 
either  to  continue  at  Harvard  or  to  go  to  other  colleges. 
There  is  always  a  keen  demand  elsewhere  for  those  for 
whom  there  is  no  room  at  home,  and  the  flourishing 
Harvard  clubs  at  the  seats  of  so  many  universities  in 
the  West  contain  many  men  who  have  been  at  one  time 
instructors  or  assistants  at  Harvard. 

In  all  the  courses,  whether  elementary  or  advanced, 
whether  large  or  small,  the  lectures  of  the  professor 
are  reinforced,  as  has  been  said,  by  laboratory  work  or 
by  numerous  written  reports  and  theses,  based  on  the 
study  of  sources.  The  example  of  that  great  teacher,  the 
elder  Agassiz,  has  now  spread  to  the  teaching  of  the 
humanities,  and  to-day  there  is  very  little  bare  com- 


vU 


il 


106 


HARVARD  COLLEOE 


munieation  of  facts  to  studrnts  by  lectures  or  text- 
books. From  the  bi'^inning,  each  student  is  expected 
to  hunt  for  facts  for  himself.  In  the  elementary 
courses,  a  larrrc  part  of  the  nork  of  the  instructors 
consists  in  tcacliinjj;  students  to  road — to  recognize  the 
facts  which  arc  on  the  pages  before  them  and  to  see 
their  significance.  They  are  also  shown  how  to  find 
sources  and  how  to  make  a  bibliography.  The  method 
is  closely  akin  to  that  in  chemistry-  and  in  biology, 
where  the  student  is  given  the  apparatus  and  material 
and  then  set  to  investigate  for  himself  and  to  note 
down  the  facts  which  he  has  observed. 

As  students  go  on  from  the  elementary  to  the  ad- 
vanced courses,  they  are  expected  to  work  more  and 
more  for  themselves,  so  that  by  the  Senior  year  most 
students  are  doing  something  which  is  of  the  gen- 
eral nature  of  original  research ;  it  is  unusual  that  an 
nndergradiiate  gets  into  a  field  which  has  not  been  ex- 
plored bcft^'c,  but  so  far  as  the  students  themselves  arc 
concerned,  tliey  are  working  on  virgin  ground  where 
tliey  must  find  their  needs  for  themselves.  The  result 
for  the  professors  is  sometimes  a  back-breaking  burden 
of  manuscript  at  tlio  end  of  the  year,  but  for  the  stu- 
dent who  has  worked  out  a  little  field  for  himself  with 
only  general  guidance  from  his  professor,  the  experience 
is  education  of  a  most  effective  kind. 

The  number  of  courses  open  to  Freshmen  is  limited, 
for  Freshmen  must  start  at  the  beginning  in  various 
subjects.  In  the  year  1911-12  there  were  fifty-eight 
courses  in  all  open  to  Freshmen  (making  no  distinction 
between  half  courses  and  full  courses).  The  number  of 
these  was  larger  than  it  would  otherwise  have  been, 
owing  to  the  necessity  of  having  separate  courses  for 
the  Freshmen  who  have  passed  the  elementary  or  ad- 


METHOD  OF  INSTRUCTION 


107 


\  inced  examinations  in  the  languages  and  inathematies. 
The  largest  of  the  courses  at  present  is  the  course  in 
English  composition  which  is  prescribed  for  all  Fresh- 
men excepting  a  few  who  have  passed  an  anticipatory 
examination.  Besides  this  there  is  the  large  course  in  the 
beginnings  of  German  which  is  prescribed  for  all  Fresh- 
men who  did  not  take  the  entrance  examination  in  Ger- 
man. Of  the  elective  courses  which  are  usually  taken  i)y 
Freshmen,  the  largest  is  that  in  government,  which  had  in 
1910-11  three  hundred  and  sixty-eight  students,  of  whom 
two  hundred  and  fifty  were  Freshmen.  Almost  equal  in 
size  to  this  is  the  elementary  course  in  history,  wiiiel)  had 
two  hundred  and  tweuty-ciglit  Freshmen,  After  Uicac, 
the  courses  most  largely  elected  by  Freshmen  are  the  ele- 
mentary courses  in  the  philosophy  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  and  in  psychology,  in  experimental  physics,  and 
in  descriptive  and  inorganic  chemistry.  Next  to  these 
in  the  preferences  of  the  F'reshmen  como  the  elementary 
courses  in  French,  in  modern  philosophy,  i..nd  in  botany, 
zoology,  and  geology.  In  these  elementary  courses,  the 
majority  of  the  students  are  Freshmen,  though  all  of 
them  have  a  fair  number  of  Sophomores  and  a  sprin- 
kling of  Juniors  and  even  Seniors,  for  they  are  not  only 
elementary  but  are  also  the  general  courses,  and  are 
therefore  valuable  for  students  who  wish  for  a  general 
acquaintance  with  a  subject. 

The  courses  offered  by  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences 
are  divided  horizontally  into  three  groups,  designated 
respectively  as  "  primarily  for  undergraduates,"  "  for 
undergraduates  and  graduates,"  and  "  primarily  for 
graduates."  There  is  no  very  sharp  line  between  the 
groups,  and  undergraduates  who  can  prove  their  fitness 
are  freely  admitted  into  the  courses  primarily  for  grad- 
uates.   At  the  same  time,  a  course  in  the  middle  group 


5  i 


■1 

i  *' 

I 

id 


108 


HARVARD  COLL^^^M-: 


may  have  a  lonsiderablc  number,  i  naps  a  majority,  of 
graduate  stuilents.  The  advantage  to  tlic  courses  of  this 
mingling  of  older  students  with  younger  is  considerable. 
It  is  unquestional)le  that  a  course  temls  to  follow  the  pace 
of  its  better  students,  and  it  is  also  un(iuestionablc  that 
an  undergraduate,  being  human,  can  do  many  things,  of 
which  he  was  supposed  to  be  congenitally  incapable,  just 
as  soon  as  they  are  required  of  him.  Accordingly,  if  a 
course  Las  a  good  sprinkling  of  mature  students,  the 
instructor  in  charge  of  it  can  cover  more  ground  and 
can  cover  it  more  thoroughly  than  if  the  standard  of  the 
course  were  set  wholly  by  younger  students. 

In  the  middle  group  the  (;ourses  vary  greatly  in  num- 
ber of  students  according  to  the  subject.    Wherever  the 
numbers  go  beyond  forty  or  fifty,  it  is  usual  for  the 
instructor  in  charge  to  have  an  assistant  to  aid  him 
with  written  work  or  in  the  laboratories.    To  take  two 
fundamental  subjects  for  examples:   in  history,  which 
is  at  present  one  of  the  popular  subjects  with  under- 
graduates, the  elementary  course  had  in  1010-11,  as  we 
have  seen,  two  hundred  and  seventy-three  students,  of 
whom  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  were  Freshmen. 
The  second-year  course  had  in  the  first  half  year  one 
hundred  and  twenty-four  students,  of  whom  seventy- 
seven  were  Sophomores  and  twenty-five  Juniors.    Among 
the  courses  of  the  middle  group  in  history  in  the  same 
year,  there  were  nine  courses  which  had  less  than  twenty 
students  each,  four  which  had  between  twenty  and  fifty, 
and  seven  which  had  over  fifty.     In  chemistry  in  the 
same  year,  the  elementary  course  in  descriptive  inor- 
ganic diemistrj'  had  two  hundred  and  sixty-two  stu- 
dents,   of   whom    one    hundred    and   seventy-two   were 
Freshmen.      In    the    courses    for    undergraduates    and 
graduates  there  were  two  courses  with  less  than  twenty 


DEGREES  OF  A.B.  AND  S.B. 


109 


students,  four  with  from  twenty  to  fifty,  and  one  with 
sixty-two.  These  are  both  important  departments,  whieh 
draw  neither  the  largest  nor  the  smallest  numbers,  but 
are  well  up  in  the  numbers  of  students;  and  they  are 
therefore  fair  samples  of  the  way  in  whieh  students 
divide  as  they  go  on  through  college.  It  will  bo  seen, 
that  every  student  gets  into  smalkn  courses  by  the  time 
he  is  halfway  through  his  college  course ;  and  every  stu- 
dent who  has  any  intellectual  interest  is  sure  to  get  into 
some  small  course  of  ten  or  fifteen  men,  where  he  will 
be  on  fairly  intimate  terms  both  with  the  other  students 
and  with  the  professor  in  charge. 

The  course  in  Harvard  College  regularly  leads  to  the 
degree  of  A.B.,  or,  in  case  of  a  student  who  entered 
without  Latin,  to  the  degree  of  S.B.  The  distinction 
between  the  two  degrees  has  so  far  faded  out  that  the 
candidates  for  one  and  the  other  are  no  longer  differ- 
entiated in  the  catalogue  except  by  the  letter  A.  or  S. 
after  their  names.  The  degree,  as  has  been  said,  is 
based  on  passing  in  sixteen  courses  of  elective  work,  plus 
whatever  English  may  be  prescribed  for  a  student.  This 
prescription  varies  according  to  the  endowments  with 
which  the  gods  have  blessed  him.  If  he  has  had  an  ex- 
cellent school  training  and  has  a  natural  aptitude  for 
writing,  he  may  pass  an  examination  at  entrance  which 
will  relieve  him  of  all  instruction  in  English  composi- 
tion in  college.  Most  Freshmen,  however,  have  a  year 
in  the  large  course  known  as  English  A.  Here  they  are 
divided  into  sections  of  about  thirty,  and  have  thorough 
drill  in  the  rudiments  of  English  style  and  at  the  same 
time  much  practice  in  the  larger  principles  of  com- 
position, so  that  they  learn  how  to  construct  an  essay 
of  considerable  length  and  have  some  practice  iu  writ- 


iil 


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i  ,«i 


n 


>r 


no  HARVARD  COLLEGE 

ing  stories  and  discussions.  Those  to  whom  the  gods 
have  not  been  kind  may  need  a  second  year  of  this 
course,  or  a  halt'  year  of  another  course  which  is  espe- 
cially arranged  for  men  who  have  not  yet  gained  the 
easy  command  fif  their  language,  which,  it  is  assumed, 
so  rarely  with  reason,  is  one  of  the  nature-given  marks 
of  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar. 

In  J!  11  the  courses  necessary  for  the  degree,  the  statutes 
of  the  University  require  that  there  shall  be  mid-year 
and  final  examinations.     These  examinations,  which  oc- 
cupy three  hours,  cover  the  ground  of  the  course  with 
a  good  deal  of  thoroughness.     They  are  reinforced  by 
sets  of  examinations  halfway  through  each  half  year, 
known  as  the  "  hour  "  examinations,  short  tests  which 
take  the  place  of  a  lecture  or  recitation.    Besides  these,  al- 
most all  courses  have  some  means  of  checking  the  weekly 
progress  of  the  student  and  his  assiduity  in  doing  the 
writing  or  the  investigation  which  the  professor  thinks  it 
good  for  him  to  do.    These  may  take  the  form  of  short 
tests,  perhaps  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  long,  once  a  week,  or 
of  quizzes  in  which  the  instructor  in  charge  calls  on  the 
members  of  the  class  at  random  to  render  some  account 
of  their  understanding  and  interest  in  the  subject.     In 
the  laboratories  certain  hours  are  designated  in  which 
the  students  must  carry  on  the  investigations  assigned. 
In  the  more  advanced  courses,  especially  in  history,  eco- 
nomies, and  literature,  theses  are  required,  which  in  the 
higher  courses  may  embody  the  results  of  considerable 
investigations.    In  many  of  the  better  organized  courses, 
preparation  for  the  thesis  is  made  by  a  bibliography  or 
other  preliminary  studies.     Where  the  students  in  a 
course  are  mainly  Seniors  and  graduates,  the  instructor 
leaves  them  largely  to  their  own  resources. 

Jlerely  to  pass  seventeen  and  one-half  courses,  how- 


DEGREES  WITH  DISTINCTION 


111 


ever,  does  not  give  a  man  the  degree.  He  must  do 
something  more  than  barely  scratch  through.  There  is 
a  marking  system  based  on  five  grades,  A,  B,  C,  D,  and 
E,  of  which  E  means  failure  and  D  a  bare  escape  from 
failure.  At  the  other  end,  A  is  the  recogniti'^n  of  bril- 
liant work,  B  of  thorough  and  distinguished,  though 
not  necessarily  brilliant,  achievement.  To  get  his  de- 
gree, a  student  must  have  obtained  a  grade  above  D 
in  at  least  two  thirds  of  his  work.  Moreover,  to  be  pro- 
moted from  class  to  class,  he  must  have  attained  the 
same  standard.  The  temper  of  the  Faculty  seems  to 
point  in  the  future  rather  to  a  raising  than  a  lowering 
of  this  minimum  requirement. 

For  graduation  with  distinction,  there  are  three 
grades:  with  distinction,  or,  in  the  old  Latin  terms, 
"cum  laude";  with  high  distinction,  "magna  cum 
laude  ";  with  highest  distinction,  "  summa  cum  laude." 
These  distinctions  may  be  attained  either  on  all-round 
excellence,  or  on  special  subjects  for  each  of  which  defi- 
nitions are  laid  out  in  the  College  Catalogue.  The  pur- 
pose of  these  degrees  with  distinction  is  to  encourage 
men  to  carry  their  studies  far  enough  in  some  one  sub- 
ject, and  to  learn  that  subject  with  such  thoroughness, 
that  when  they  gradupie  they  can  fee!  that  they  really 
know  it.  The  award  of  the  highest  distinction,  "  summa 
cum  laude,"  is  rightly  considered  a  judgment  of  bril- 
liant scholarship. 

The  scholarships  reserved  for  undergraduates  are 
divided  into  three  groups.  To  win  a  scholarship  in 
the  First  Group,  of  which  thirty  or  forty  are  usually 
awarded  each  year,  a  man  must  have  a  very  high  rci  ord : 
in  technical  language,  A  in  more  than  three  quarters  of 
his  work.    In  this  group  about  one  third  of  the  number 


i.t 


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11 


V 

,  1 


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i\ 


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112 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


arc  John  Harvard  scholarships,  which  have  no  stipend, 
but  are  given  to  men  whose  standing  ranks  them  with 
those  who  obtain  the  highest  money  scholar,  liips.  The 
Second  Group  is  made  up  of  men  whose  record  is  high, 
but  not  so  distinguished  as  those  of  the  men  in  the 
First  Group.  The  honorary  scholarships  in  this  group 
are  known  as  Harvard  College  scholarships,  and  usually 
make  up  about  fifty  per  cent  of  the  group.  Since  the 
number  of  men  who  are  working  their  way  through 
Harvard  College,  and  supporting  themselves  in  whole 
or  in  part,  is  large,  the  competition  for  the  money 
scholarships  is  very  keen,  and  it  is  a  satisfactory  fact 
that  the  winners  of  honorary  scholarships  keep  pace 
with  them  so  well. 

Various  experiments  have  been  made  towards  the 
more  general  recognition  of  scholarship,  but  none  of 
them  has  as  yet  proved  very  successful.  One  weakness 
of  the  elective  system  is  that  it  largely  destroys  the 
competitive  motive  which  is  so  valuable  as  a  force  in 
stimulating  young  human  beings  to  do  their  best  work. 
"Where  men  are  studying  all  kinds  of  subjects,  in  which 
the  standards  necessarily  differ,  competition  is  inevitably 
weak.  So  far  the  Faculty  and  governing  boards  have 
not  found  any  effective  way  of  making  the  community, 
whether  in  the  College  or  outside  of  it,  take  keen  de- 
light in  honoring  high  scholars. 

There  are  a  considerable  number  of  prizes  open  to 
undergraduates.  The  most  ancient  foundation  is  that 
of  the  Detiirs,  which  goes  back  to  Edward  Hopkins,  a 
successful  London  merchant,  who  came  to  New  England 
in  1637  and  was  several  times  Governor  of  Connecticut 
Colony.  In  his  will  he  left  various  educational  bequests 
to  New  England  institutions,  and  in  1718,  the  Corpora- 
tion, after  a  suit  in  Chancery,  received  from  the  estate 


PRIZES 


113 


four  hundred  pounds  sterling.  This  sum  they  invested 
in  a  tract  of  land  from  which  the  town  of  Hopkinton 
was  formed.  This  land  has  since  l)een  turned  into 
money,  and  the  portion  of  it  which  is  assigned  to  the 
prizes  amounts  to  over  $2000.  The  income  of  this  fund 
is  used  for  the  purchase  of  books  called  Deturs,  from  the 
first  word  of  the  Latin  inscription  on  the  book-plates. 
They  are  given  to  men  who  attain  a  place  in  the  first 
group  of  scholars,  on  their  first  appearance  in  that 
group.  Usually  thirty  or  thirty-five  of  them  are  given 
each  year,  the  larger  number  to  Sophomores  and  Juniors, 
on  the  work  of  the  year  before,  though  there  are  always 
some  men  who  first  attain  their  high  rank  in  the  more 
advanced  courses. 

Next  in  point  of  antiquity  to  the  Deturs  are  the 
Bowdoin  Prizes,  established  by  James  Bowdoin,  A.B. 
1745,  who  was  president  of  the  convention  which  framed 
the  Constitution  of  the  Commonwealth  in  1779-80,  and 
Governor  of  Massachusetts  from  1785  to  1787.  He  be- 
queathed four  hundred  pounds  to  "  the  University  at 
Cambridge  "  to  be  "  annually  applii'd  in  the  way  of 
premiums  for  the  advancement  of  useful  and  polite  lit- 
erature among  the  residents,  as  well  graduates  as  under- 
graduates of  the  University."  In  1901  his  grandson 
added  $15,000  to  the  principal  of  Governor  Bowdoin 's 
bequest.  From  this  foundation  five  prizes  are  offered 
to  undergraduates  and  four  prizes  to  graduates.  For 
undergraduates  one  prize  of  $250  and  two  second  pi  izes 
of  $100  are  offered  annually  for  essays  in  English,  and 
two  prizes  of  $50  each  for  translations  into  Greek  and 
Latin. 

In  1817,  Ward  Nicholas  Boylston,  of  Boston,  founded 
the  Boylston  Prizes  for  Elocution,  which,  by  the  terms 
of  the  foundation,  are  limited  to  a  competition  in  speak- 


!  * 


1% 


f 


114 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


ing  solec'tious  fnnii  English,  (I  reek,  or  Latin  authors. 
Conipctitois  are  forbidden  to  speak  their  own  com- 
positions. With  the  ehangc  in  times,  the  interest  in 
these  prizes  and  the  estimation  in  which  they  arc  hehl 
has  considerably  diminished. 

Besides  th'^sc  prizes,  the  Dante  Society  offers  an 
annual  prize  of  $100  for  an  essay  on  a  subject  drawn 
from  the  life  or  works  of  Dante.  The  Sargent  Prize 
of  $100  is  offered  for  the  best  metrical  transhitiou  of  a 
lyric  poem  from  Horace.  The  George  B.  Sohier  Prize 
of  $250  is  offered  for  the  best  thesis  presented  by  a 
successful  candidate  for  Honors  in  English  or  in  ^lodern 
Literature.  In  economics,  the  Sumner  Prize,  estab- 
lished by  Charles  Sumner  of  the  Class  of  1830,  United 
States  Senator  from  Ma.s.sachusetts  from  1851  to  1874, 
is  offered  for  the  best  dissertation  on  a  subject  connected 
with  the  topic  of  Universal  Peace.  The  Ricardo  Prize 
Scholarship,  with  an  annual  income  of  $350,  is  offered 
to  a  student  in  economics  and  political  science,  based  on 
an  essay  written  in  an  examination  on  som'i  topic  from 
a  list  in  tho.se  subjects.  The  Francis  Boott  Prize, 
founded  by  Francis  Boott  o.  the  class  of  1831,  offers  an 
annual  prize  of  $100  for  the  best  composition  in  con- 
certed vocal  music.  The  Lloyd  ]McKim  Garrison  Prize  of 
$100  and  a  silver  medal,  established  by  the  class  of  1888 
in  memory  of  a  classmate,  is  offered  for  the  best  poem  on 
a  subject  annually  to  be  chosen  by  a  committee  of  the 
Department  of  English. 

These  are  the  principal  prizes  offered  for  the  en- 
deavor of  undergraduates.  The  competition  for  them 
is  not  so  general  as  it  might  be,  though  that  for  the 
Bowdoin  prizes  has  been  stimulated  by  allowing  students 
to  offer  theses  written  on  the  regular  work  of  courses, 
and  by  the  rule  that  the  committee  shall  give  honorable 


THE  ADMINISTRATIVE  HOARD 


115 


mention  to  all   essays  wliich   are   wurthy  of  counting 
towards  the  degree  with  distinction. 

In  general,  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  acadeniie  distinc- 
tion at  Harvard  is  not  so  widely  desired  as  it  should  he. 
In  this  respect  American  colleges  differ  largely  from  the 
fluglish  universities,  where  the  names  and  winners  of 
important  prizes  are  known  and  recognized  through  the 
country.  For  one  thing  we  have  in  America  too  many 
colleges  and  the  country  is  too  big.  In  England,  whicii 
is  practically  a  single  parish,  local  news  is  national 
news.  In  this  country,  Missouri  or  California  knows 
little  and  cares  less  about  distinctions  won  at  universities 
a  thousand  or  three  thoasand  miles  awav. 


The  discipline  and  the  details  of  administration  of 
Harvard  College  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Dean  and  the 
Administrative  Board  of  the  College.  The  Administra- 
tive Board  at  present  consists  of  six  members  besides 
the  Dean.  This  small  body,  which  meets  usually  once 
a  week,  deals  with  a  multitude  of  matters.  In  a  col- 
lege of  two  thousand  two  hundred  undergraduates, 
the  number  of  special  eases  due  to  causes  which  vary 
from  serious  illness  or  family  necessities  to  irregu- 
larity in  preparation,  is  almost  infinite,  and  each  of  these 
cases  must  have  a  decision  of  its  own.  Moreover,  in  so 
large  a  body  of  youth,  there  is  bound  to  be  much  effer- 
vescence, most  of  it  innocent,  and  this  effervescence  leads 
to  various  pranks  and  irregularities. 

The  Dean  is  in  direct  charge  of  the  College,  and  hia 
burden  is  heavy.  As  a  former  Dean  once  said,  "  Here 
are  two  thousand  students,  to  any  one  of  whom  any- 
thing may  happen  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night,  and 
I  am  responsible."  The  relation  of  the  Dean  to  the 
students  is  almost  parental.     Many  of  them  come  to 


no 


11 A  KV  AH  I)  COLLEGE 


know  him  thnjU-,'!!  no  volition  of  their  own ;  but  on  the 
otlur  hand,  it  is  now  the  custom  for  undergraduates  to 
go  to  him  of  their  own  accord,  for  advice  or  counsel  on 
their  own  ditlieulties  or  problems,  or  even  to  talk  over 
tlie  cases  of  friiuds  who  arc  not  doing  as  well  as  they 
ought  to.    The  Dean  is  expected  to,  and  in  practice  does, 
follow  the  individual  fortunes  of  all  the  men  who  come 
to  his  notice,  voluntarily  or  involuntarily.     lie  keeps  a 
dose  watch  on  the  needy,  and  lie  usually  has  funds  put 
into  his  hands  by  graduates  with  which  he  can  help  men 
along  rtho  have  not  enough  money  to  support  themselves 
properly.     Many  cases  of  hardship  which  come  to  his 
notice  and  to  no  one  else's  he  thus  (juietly  relieves.    At 
the  same  time,  it  is  his  duty  to  see  that  the  "  birds  o£ 
paradise  "  are  not  flitting  through  the  air  all  the  time. 
He  must  set!  that  they  do  a  reasonable  amount  of  work, 
that  they  are  regular  in  their  attendance  at  lectures  and 
recitations,  and  that  their  grades  are,  at  any  rate,  re- 
speetiil)le.     Uesidcs  this,  the  Dean  has  many  talks,  often 
of  the  most  intimate  sort,  with  parents ;  and  he  carries 
on  an  endless  amount  of  correspondence  with  parents 
and  with  teachers.     The  variety  of  duties  which  fall  to 
him  is  almost  bewildering. 

For  most  of  the  business  of  the  College  Office  prece- 
dents arc  now  well  established.  The  Administrative 
Board  has  certain  standing  votes:  for  example,  a  stu- 
dent whose  grades  fall  below  a  certain  point  goes  auto- 
matically on  probation.  When  he  raises  thera  again 
above  the  danger  point,  he  is  automatically  relieved  of 
probation.  In  these  cases  the  Dean  merely  reports  to  the 
Board.  Also  there  is  an  established  practice  about  leave 
of  absence  and  about  making  up  conditions.  A  large 
part  of  the  necessary  business,  therefore,  now  takes  care 


THE  COLI  ':GE  office 


117 


of  itself  without  being  currii'd  to  tlw-  Administrative 
Hoard.  All  cases,  however,  whieli  are  e.xeiptional  and 
for  which  there  is  no  precedent,  are  carefully  discussed 
l)y  the  Dean  and  then  usually  referred  by  liiin  to  the 
Hoard.  There  is  almost  no  chance  under  this  .system 
for  injustice  to  individuals. 

The  bookkeeping  is  a  heavy  l)urden.  I'ndcr  a  vote 
of  the  Overseers  about  twenty-live  years  a^'o.  the 
Faculty  is  reciuired  to  keep  account  of  the  attendance 
of  all  students  at  all  lectures  and  recitations.  To  carry 
out  this  vote,  an  elaborate  system  has  been  developed 
of  monitors  in  recitations  who  cheek  off  the  al)scritecs. 
These  lists  are  then  returned  to  the  otliiic,  where  a  con- 
siderable staff  of  clerks  enters  the  al)scnces  on  larRc  day- 
books. The  College  Office  is  in  cbarjre  of  the  Recorder, 
who  is  responsible  for  the  records  and  to  whom  is  as- 
signed the  duty  of  superintendin'r  the  api)lieation  of  the 
rules  for  residence.  He  also  is  in  general  charge  of  the 
examinations  and  of  the  return  of  grades  by  i)rofessors. 
To  him   are   allotted   also  a  multituile   of  other   less.r 

tasks. 

The  Dean  has  the  aid  of  an  Assistant  Dean,  to  whom 
at  present  is  assigned  the  special  charge  of  the  Fresh- 
man class.  Freshmen  naturally  need  more  attention 
than  do  upper-class  men,  for  they  have  not  yet  become 
used  to  the  customs  of  the  place  or  to  the  new  modes  of 
work.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Assistant  Dean  to  follow 
them  closely  and  to  see  that  they  all  keep  up  with  their 
work,  to  comfort  the  perplexed,  and  to  encourage  the 
lame  ducks.  Many  a  Freshman  has  thus  been  pulled 
through  a  pretty  unpromising  year  by  the  faith  of  an 
older  man,  reinforced  l)y  the  knowledge  that  a  Freshman 
is  at  the  time  of  life  when  he  frequently  need:--  time  and 


,\ 

H 

1 

'  1 

1 

' 

1 

v.* 


m:mn 


118 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


encouragement  to  find  himself.  The  Assistant  Dean  is 
expected  to  pass  on  to  the  Dean  a  class  well  house- 
broken,  and  with  most  of  those  who  have  no  fitness  for 
college  work  weeded  out. 

The  actual  discipline  of  Harvard  College  is  a  surpris- 
ingly simple  matter,  when  one  considers  that  there  are 
some  two  thousand  two  hundred  students  to  deal  with, 
that  the  doors  arc  open  to  all  applicants  of  sufficient  in- 
tellectual ability,  and  that  there  is  a  Freshman  class  of 
about  six  hundred,  made  up  of  boys  just  loosed  from  the 
control  of  home  or  boarding-school.  The  tone  of  college 
life,  even  as  compared  with  a  generation  ago,  is  now 
mature,  and  the  undergraduate  takes  himself  as  a  re- 
sponsible person. 

Such  has  not  always  been  the  case.  In  the  beginning 
discipline  was  adapted  to  a  body  of  boys,  and  was  not 
infrequently  applied  in  strict  literalness  to  their  bodies. 
The  earliest  record  concerning  discipline  is  a  vote  of 
October  21,  1656,  which  reads  as  follows:— 

It  is  herebv  ordered  that  the  President  and  Fellows 
of  Harvard  College,  for  the  time  being,  or  the  major 
part  of  them,  are  hereby  empowered,  according  to  their 
best  discretion,  to  punish  all  misdemeanors  of  the  youth 
in  their  society,  either  by  fine,  or  whipping  in  the  Hall 
openly,  as  the  nature  of  the  offence  shall  require,  not 
exceeding  ten  shillings  or  ten  stripes  for  one  offence; 
and  this  law  to  continue  in  force  until  this  Court  or 
the  Overseers  of  the  College  provide  some  other  order 
to  punish  such  offences.  The  magistrates  have  past  this 
with  reference  to  the  consent  of  their  brethren,  the 
deputies,  thereto. 

Voted  in  the  affirmative  21st  of  October,  1656. 

Edward  Rawson,  Secretary. 

Consented  to  by  the  Deputies. 

WlUJAM    TORREY. 


DISCIPLINE 


119 


In  the  seventeenth  century  the  "  tutors  chastised  at 
discretion."*     In    cases    of   grave    offenses,    such    as 
"  speaking  blasphemous  words,"  the  culprit  was  pub- 
licly whipped  before  the  Corporation  and  the  Overseers 
and  all  the  students.    The  execution  of  the  sentence  was 
ceremonious:  the  judgment  was  twice  read  publicly  in 
the  Library,  in  the  presence  of  all  the  scholars,  the 
government,  and  such  of  the  Overseers  as  chose  to  at- 
tend; the  offender  kneeled,  the  President  prayed,  and 
after  the  corporal  punishment  had  been  inflicted,  the 
President  prayed  again.    Corporal  punishment  in  some 
light  form  seems  to  have  lasted  well  down  into  the 
eighteenth  century.    The  case  of  William  Vassall  against 
Daniel  Rogers,  a  tutor  of  the  College,  in  1733,  showed 
that  flogging  was  still  at  any  rate  not  illegal;  and  in 
1734  the  right  of  punishing  undergraduates  by  "  box- 
ing "  was  expressly  reserved  in  the  revision  of  the  Col- 
lege laws  to  the  President,  professors,  and  tutors.    It 
was  twenty  years  later  before  the  Overseers  were  ready 
to  let  this  punishment  of  "  boxing  "  disappear. 

The  system  of  fines  for  minor  offenses,  which  began 
as  early  as  1656,  lasted  well  down  to  the  Revolution. 
Then  it  dawned  on  the  authorities  that  a  fine  frequently 
had  little  effect  on  the  student,  but  might  be  a  consider- 
able  annoyance  to  his  parents.    There  is  a  curious  list 
extant  of  "  pecuniary  mulcts,"  dating  from  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century.    Absence  from  prayers  cost 
two  pence;  absence  from  a  professor's  public  lecture, 
four  pence.     The  profanation  of  the  Lord's  Day  was 
more  serious,  and  for  that  the  fine  might  go  up  to  three 
shillings.     Going  to  meeting  before  bell-ringing  seems 
not  to  have  been  considered  a  sign  of  piety,  for  it  was 
fined  six  pence.    Undergraduates  who  went  out  of  town 
» Quincy,  History  of  Harvard  University,  vol.  i,  p.  189. 


I 


120 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


'  I 


II  i; 


»     4 


witliout  leave  might  be  fined  two  shillings  and  six  pence. 
Hospitality  in  the  form  of  lodging  strangers  without 
leave  might  be  fined  one  shilling  and  six  pence,  and  the 
same  fine  was  levied  for  entertaining  "  persons  of  ill 
character,"  or  for  frequenting  taverns.  For  playing 
cards,  graduates  might  be  fined  five  shillings;  un- 
dergraduates, two  shilling  and  six  pence.  For  lying, 
the  fine  was  not  to  exceed  one  shilling  and  six  pence — 
the  same  as  the  penalty  for  drunkenness,  or  for  keeping 
prohibited  liquors.  For  "  going  upon  the  top  of  the 
college,"  or  for  "  cutting  off  the  lead,"  or  for  "  tumul- 
tuous noises,"  or  for  "  keeping  guns  and  going  on  skat- 
ing," the  fine  was  one  shilling.  For  firing  guns  and 
pistols  in  the  College  Yard,  the  fine  was  two  shillings 
and  six  pence,  and  for  "  fighting  or  hurting  any  per- 
son," not  exceeding  one  shilling  and  six  pence. 

In  17C1  these  questions  of  discipline  had  so  disturbed 
the  minds  of  the  Overseers  that  a  committee,  which 
included  Lieutenant-Governor  Hutchinson,  Secretary 
Oliver,  Dr.  Chauney,  and  Dr.  Mayhcw,  was  appointed 
to  consider  more  effective  methods  of  punishment,  and 
the  plan  which  they  brought  in  has  left  its  traces  down 
to  the  present  day.  It  provided  for  warning,  and  for 
private  and  public  admonition,  the  latter  with  a  notifica- 
tion to  parents.  Nevertheless,  the  system  of  fines,  though 
in  a  modified  form,  lasted  until  the  reforms  of  1825. 

After  that  time  the  system  of  demerits  was  gradually 
developed,  which  amounted  to  fines  in  what  might  be 
called  "  academic  currency  ";  that  is  to  say,  a  student 
who  was  absent  from  prayers  or  recitation,  or  who  other- 
wise neglected  his  academic  duties,  lost  a  certain  number 
of  the  marks  with  which  he  had  been  credited  for  doing 
the  work  in  his  courses.  This  system  so  flourished  that 
an  undergraduate  knew  exactly  how  many  more  cuts  ho 


DISCIPLINE 


121 


had  the  right  to  take  before  being  summoned  for  a 
private  or  public  admonition.  The  "  College  Bible,"  as 
the  regulations  came  to  be  called,  waxed  large  by  small 
accretions,  until  finally,  soon  after  1870,  it  was  swept 
away  under  the  wise  counsels  of  Dean  Gurney. 

To-day,  although  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Dean 
discipline  is  a  heavy  burden,  it  is  so  chiefly  because 
there   ?s  so  much  petty   carelessness  inherent   in  the 
nature  of  youth,  and  the  offenders  are  too  old  to  be 
spanked.    By  far  the  greater  proportion  of  cases  which 
come  before  the  Dean  and  the  Administrative  Board  for 
discipline  are  due  to  irregularity  in  attendance  at  lee 
tures  and  to  low  marks.     Occasionally  a  graver  case 
arises  to  give  real  anxiety  to  the  Dean.    Each  year  there 
are  a  few  cases  of  cheating  in  written  work  or  in  ex- 
aminations-the  larger  proportion  of  them,  however, 
due  rather  to  stupidity  and  haste  than  to  dishonesty- 
and  more  rarely  a  case  of  riot  or  of  serious  moral 

offense.  .  , 

All  cases,  whether  trivial  or  serious,  are  dealt  with 
most  carefully.    Every  chance  is  given  to  the  culprit  to 
exonerate  himself,  and  the  Dean,  even  when  his  own 
mind  is  made  up,  not  infrequently  spends  hours  with  a 
student  and  his  parents  or  his  friends.     The  graver 
cases  are  reported  to  the  Administrative  Board,  which 
votes  probation,  suspension,  dismission,  or  expulsion,  as 
the  case  demands.     Of  these  punishments  probation, 
which  is  much  the  most  common,  varies  too  greatly  in 
its  effect  on  the   individual   to   be   very   satisfactory. 
Technically,  it  serves  notice  on  a  -Mident  that  he  is  m 
grave  danger  of  being  separated  irom  the  University; 
and  the  danger  is  a  real  one,  for  probation  may  be 
closed  by  a  simple  vote  of  the  Administrative  Board. 
>Suspension  defeats  its  own  purpose  in  these  days  where 


it 


122 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


II  >: 


so  much  of  a  student's  work  must  be  done  in  laboratories 
or  in  the  Library ;  for  if  he  be  sent  away  from  Cambridge 
for  two  or  three  months,  his  year's  work  is  hopelessly 
dislocated.  Accordingly,  suspension  is  now  rare.  Be- 
fore the  erection  of  laboratories  and  the  elective  system, 
a  student  used  to  be  "  rusticated";  that  is,  he  was 
sent  off  to  study  under  some  good  country  minister, 
where  life  would  be  quiet  and  hours  regular. 

Dismission  and  expulsion  are  the  two  punishments 
for  serious  moral  offenses.  Both  are  imposed  only  by 
the  Faculty.  Dismission  sends  a  student  away  from  the 
University,  but  leaves  the  way  open  to  repentance,  and 
he  may  be  readmitted  by  vote  of  the  Faculty.  Dismis- 
sion, moreover,  does  not  keep  a  student  from  being  ad- 
mitted to  another  institution.  Expulsion,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  final  separation  from  the  University,  and  prac- 
tically prevents  the  offender  from  being  admitted  to  any 
other  college.  It  is  applied  only  in  cases  involving  per- 
sonal moral  disgrace,  and  in  the  rare  cases  in  which  it  is 
necessary  to  apply  it  the  vote  is  taken  gravely  and 
solemnly  by  the  whole  Faculty.  In  practice  few  grad- 
uates or  undergraduates  ever  recognize  any  distinction 
between  these  latter  punishments. 

For  the  lighter  offenses,  the  real  embarrassment  of 
the  situation  is  that  there  is  no  punishment  which  is 
trivial  enough  and  at  the  same  time  so  irritating  to 
the  offender  as  to  be  a  proper  return  for  the  inconveni- 
ence to  which  he  puts  the  College  authorities.  For 
neglecting  work,  probation  is  in  a  good  many  cases  ef- 
fective. For  one  thing,  it  involves  correspondence  with 
fathers  or  guardians  and  also,  under  the  rules,  no  student 
who  is  on  probation  may  take  part  in  any  public  athletic 
contest,  or  in  any  public  musical  or  dramatic  entertain- 
ment.   Naturally,  it  bears  harder  on  athletes  than  on 


DISCIPLINE 


123 


anyone  else,  and  it  has  been  a  wholesome  stimulus  to 
the  youth  to  whom  athletics  are  the  most  important  part 
of  the  University.     There  has  been  and  is  still  some 
attempt  to  create  the  feeling  that  to  keep  off  probation 
is  for  an  athlete  as  much  a  point  of  honor  as  to  keep  in 
training.     But  though  the  spirit  is  good,  the  fl«sh  is 
weak,  and  an  athlete  who  loses  his  place  on  a  team  by 
being  put  on  probation  is  by  no  means  so  harshly  con- 
sidered as  the  athlete  who  breaks  training.    In  America, 
and  in  other  countries,  university  life  includes  a  con- 
siderable number  of  undergraduates  and  of  graduates 
to  whom  the  intellectual  life  is  halfway  between  a  bore 
and  a  joke.    The  fact  that  such  men  frequently  turn 
out  well  in  life  and  settle  down  to  hard  and  intelligent 
work  is  not  much  comfort  to  the  Faculty,  who  have  to 
spend  their  time  urging  capable  young  men  to  take  their 
share  in  the  purpose  for  which  the  University  was 

founded. 

In  all  the  discipline  the  Dean  is  the  leading  figure. 
Before  a  student  is  put  on  probation  for  loafing  or  for 
low  marks,  he  is  pretty  sure  to  have  more  than  one 
audience  with  the  Dean,  and  the  latter  has  probably 
some  correspondence  with  his  parents.     Among  two 
thousand  two  hundred  young  men  between  the  ages  o. 
eighteen  and  twenty-two  or  twenty-three,  there  are  so 
many  permutations  and  combinations  of  shiftlessness, 
dullness,  and  immaturity,  that  it  is  never  safe  to  apply 
rigid  rules.    The  Dean  must  be  human  and  he  must  be 
patient;  for  the  tone  of  the  College  largely  depends  on 
the  confidence  which  it  feels  in  him.    This  confidence  he 
must  win  in  the  face  of  misunderstanding  by  the  stupid, 
of  irritated  vanity  on  the  part  of  the  brilliant  lazy 
youth,  and  of  the  disappointment  of  those  fathers  who 
shift  all  responsibility  for  their  sons  to  the  shoulders 


f' 


124 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


.   I 


I 

i. 


1         . 


of  the  Colk'gc.  Dean  Briggs's  essay  on  "  Fathers, 
Mothers,  and  Freshmen  "Ms  illuminating  on  the  diffi- 
culties whieh  the  Dean  has  to  moot. 

Nevertheless,  the  great  body  of  undergraduates  at 
Harvard,  as  at  other  American  colleges,  is  sound 
morally  and  i)hysically.  Indeed  it  would  be  impossible 
to  gather  together  a  like  number  of  selected  American 
youth  and  not  thereby  create  reasons  for  optimism.  The 
Dean's  labors  are  constantly  rewarded  by  seeing  a  man 
who  as  a  Freshman  seemed  inevitably  started  on  the 
road  to  perdition  pull  himself  together,  and  as  a  Junior 
or  Senior  earn  the  respect  of  the  Office  and  of  his  fellow 
students.  In  the  work  of  steadying  the  restive  and 
helping  the  half-grown  to  grow  up,  the  Dean  is  often 
greatly  aided  by  the  students  themselves.  It  is  now  a 
part  of  the  recognized  order  of  college  life  that  the  more 
responsible  among  the  students  shall  be  called  on  by  the 
Office  to  help  with  the  less  responsible.  The  presidents 
of  the  classes  take  their  office  seriously  and  feel  real 
responsibility;  and  a  good  class  president  is  a  tower  of 
strength  to  the  Dean. 

Besides  the  offenses  which  try  the  patience  of  the 
Dean,  in  the  way  of  cutting  lectures  and  recitations,  re- 
turning from  vacations  late,  or  going  away  for  them 
early,  there  are  various  forms  of  noise  and  small  dis- 
order which  result  from  the  perennial  bubbling  over  of 
the  spirits  of  youth.  For  order  in  the  College  buildings 
the  proctors  are  responsible,  each  for  his  own  entry  or 
building.  A  proctor  who  is  cool,  and  has  a  sense  of 
humor,  and  can  sit  through  a  short  period  of  noise, 
can  soon  reduce  a  dormitory  notorious  for  turmoil  to  a 
house  of  peace.  Undergraduates  respond  to  a  call  on 
their  sense  of  responsibility,  and  if  a  proctor  will  take 
*  In  School,  College,  and  Character.     Boston,   1901. 


DISCIPLINE 


125 


the  time  to  know  the  men  in  bis  entry,  and  will  take 
an  interest  in  their  affairs,  he  can  soon  have  them  behav- 
ing like  lambs.  Woe  to  the  proctor,  howcvor,  who  comes 
rushing  out  of  his  room  at  the  first  loud  noise.  There 
are  many  games  by  which  such  a  proctor  may  be  kept 
exercised,  and  undergraduate  ingenuity  is  always  at  its 
best  in  devising  such  games.  In  one  of  the  College  dor- 
mitories, for  example,  which  was  built  with  entries  run- 
ning the  length  of  the  building  and  staircases  about 
one-third  of  the  way  from  each  end,  «  ynunc  proctor 
was  so  skillfully  managed  by  the  undergraduates  that 
every  evening  they  had  a  series  of  races  along  the  en- 
tries and  up  the  stairs  and  around  again. 

On  the  whole,  however,  proctors  to-day  contribute 
much  less  to  the  hilarity  of  undergraduates  than  in  old 
times.  Cannon-crackers  no  longer  bring  them  rushing 
into  the  yard,  nor  is  there  much  fun  in  screwing  a  man 
into  his  room  when  you  like  to  have  him  drop  into 
yours.  The  tone  of  the  College  life  is  older  than  it  was 
a  generation  ago,  and  the  diaries  kept  before  the  Civil 
War,  which  tell  of  the  whole  College  dancing  at  mid- 
night round  the  Rebellion  Tree,  have  a  strange  and  far- 
away sound.  The  gradual  raising  of  the  age  of  en- 
trance, and  the  responsibility  imposed  on  students  by 
the  elective  system,  have  matured  undergraduate  life, 
and  the  maturity  has  destroyed  much  of  the  pictur- 
esqueness  which  is  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  reminiscent 
graduate. 

Admission  to  Harvard  College  is  by  examinations. 
The  only  exception  is  in  the  case  of  students  who  have, 
in  part  or  in  whole,  completed  their  studies  at  other 
colleges.  Such  men  are  admitted  to  advanced  standing, 
either  immediately,  when  they  come  from  colleges  whose 


126 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


'S  » 


1  .' 


I 


courses  are  known  through  former  students,  or,  m  the 
cases  of  men  from  colleges  of  which  little  is  known, 
after  a  year  of  probation  as  unclassified  students.    The 
number  of  these  men  is  small,  however,  and  the  entrance 
examinations  have  been  and  still  are  considered  of  vital 
importance  for  maintaining  the  standards  of  the  college. 
In  the  recent  past  these  examinations  have  had  an  enor- 
mous influence  for  good  on  the  standards  of  the  sec- 
ondary schools  throughout  the  United  States,  for  thirty 
years  ago,  under  President  Eliot's  leadership,  the  defini- 
tions of  the  various  subjects  were  taken  as  an  ideal  for 
good  high-school  courses,  at  a  time  when  there  was  still 
chaos  in  the  schools  of  this  country.    The  purpose  of  the 
examinations,  however,  is  to  maintain  the  standards  of 
Harvard  College  and  to  ensure  that  students  who  are 
admitted  to  it  shall  have  had  such  training  as  to  be 
capable  of  entering  at  once  on  college  work  of  a  high 
order.     One  of  the  chief  differences  between  a  strong 
endowed    university    and   a   state   university   is   that, 
whereas  the  latter  must  open  its  doors  freely  to  grad- 
uates of  the  public  high  schools  of  the  state,  and  must 
do  so  with  the  definite  intention  of  finding  a  place  for 
the  largest  possible  number  of  them,  the  endowed  uni- 
versity can  do  its  best  service  to  the  country  only  by  seek- 
ing out  and  admitting  the  youth  who  are  intellectually 
the  most  fit.     The  examinations  of  Harvard  College, 
therefore,  are  administered  with  the  purpose  of  keeping 
only  the  candidates  who  have  shown  distinct  intellectual 

capacity. 

The  level  above  which  the  examinations  cannot  be 
raised  is  set  by  the  possibilities  of  education  which  are 
open  to  boys  in  good  public  high  schools.  No  college 
which  aims  to  be  of  value  to  the  country  at  large  can 
allow  itself  to  drift  into  a  position  where  entrance  to  it 


PLANS  OF  ADMISSION 


127 


can  be  had  only  tlirough  special  preparatory  schools. 
It  must  be  open  always  to  boys  prepared  in  good  high 
schools,  where  the  larger  number  of  pupils  do  not  go  to 
college  at  all.  Harvard  College  recently  faced  the  situa- 
tion that  its  examination  system  tended  to  tie  it  up  to 
special  preparatory  schools.  It  has  met  the  difficulty 
by  a  new  plan  of  admission,  adopted  in  1910 ;  and  at 
present  there  are  two  plans,  standing  side  by  side. 

The  older  plan,  which  has  had  a  continuous  develop- 
ment of  forty  years  and  more,  was  molded,  not  only 
with  the  idea  of  providing  a  strainer  for  entrance  to  the 
College,  but  also,  as  has  been  said,  with  the  definite  pur- 
pose of  helping  the  better  teachers  in  the  high  schools 
to  raise  the  standard  of  work  in  their  schools.    Various 
successive  committees  of  the  Faculty,  which  have  pre- 
pared  and  modified  the  definitions  for  admission  under 
this  old  plan,  have  always  had  in  mind  that  they  must 
so  define  the  requirements  in  the  different  subjects  as  to 
make  them  contain  a  reasonable  statement  of  what  good 
teaching  in  a  subject  might  be  expected  to  accomplish 
in  a  given  number  of  years.    The  standard  of  admission 
to  Harvard  College  was  gradually  raised  in  the  course 
of  time,  both  by  adding  to  the  number  of  subjects  re- 
quired for  examination  and  by  increasing  the  amount 
covered  by  them.     This  raising  of  the  standard  went 
on  until  the  schools  began  to  rebel  against  the  multiplica- 
tion of  subjects  and  against  the  specification  in  detail 
of  what  must  be  taught  in  each  subject. 

The  old  plan  requires  examinations  in  six  or  eight 
different  subjects,  to  each  of  which  is  assigned  a  fixed 
number  of  units.  These  subjects  are  English,  Latin,  at 
least  one  modern  language,  algebra,  plane  geometry, 
history,  and  a  science.  To  make  up  the  complete  num- 
ber of  sixteen  units  required  for  entrance,  boys  are  re- 


\t 


i: 


f! 


V 


t'\ 


128 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


quired  also  to  offer  advanced  work  in  at  least  two  sub- 
jects. A  boy  who  passes  all  of  his  sixteen  units  is  regu- 
larly admitted,  but  one  who  has  failed  in  two  or  three 
examinations  may  still  be  admitted  with  conditions, 
which  he  must  later  make  up.  The  examinations  may  be 
divided  over  as  many  years  as  the  boy  and  his  teachers 
choose.  The  result  has  been  that  the  examinations  have 
come  to  be  a  kind  of  obstacle  race,  with  so  many  difficul- 
ties over  or  through  which  teachers  must  aid  a  boy  to 
scr  inble.  As  a  natural  result,  the  special  preparatory 
schools  and  tutors  have  attained  great  skill  in  guessing 
at  the  examinations  and  in  filling  boys'  minds  with  just 
the  sort  and  amount  of  knowledge  which  is  needed  to  pass 
them.  It  is  surprising,  sometimes,  to  see  how  little  edu- 
eation  and  real  knowledge  a  boy  may  have  who  has 
been  prepared  by  a  skillful  crammer. 

Naturally,  the  public  high  schools  have  taken  no  part 
in  this  very  special  kind  of  preparation  for  Harvard 
College.  Of  recent  years  the  good  public  schools  have 
gone  their  own  way,  giving  all  their  pupils  as  good  an 
education  as  they  could.  As  a  result,  in  many  high 
schools,  if  a  boy  wanted  to  prepare  himself  for  the  spe- 
cial examinations  of  Harvard  College,  he  had  to  do  part 
of  the  work  outside  of  school.  Recognizing  these  facts, 
the  Faculty  in  1910  prepared  what  is  known  as  the  New 
Plan  of  Admission.  This  frankly  recognizes  the  very 
great  advance  made  by  the  public  high  schools  of  the 
countrj'  within  the  last  generation,  and  also  the  fact  that 
since  ninety  per  cent  of  the  pupils  in  these  schools  do  not 
go  to  college,  the  teachers  in  them  must  think  first  of  the 
interests  of  the  ninety  per  cent.  Furthermore,  it  was 
r  cognized  that  a  public  high  school  in  Iowa,  Missouri, 
.T  .Montana,  knows  very  little  about  Harvard  or  any 
other    single   college   in   the   East.     Accordingly,   the 


PLANS  OP  ADMISSION 


129 


Faculty  adapU-d  the  new  plan  of  admission  to  the  ca- 
pacities of  any  intelligent  boy  who  has  had  four  years 
of  a  good  high-school  course. 

The  system  is  extremely  simple.    It  requires  the  can- 
didate for  admission  in  the  first  place  to  show  that  he  is 
ready  to  take  the  examinations  by  sending  a  statement 
of  the  subjects  which  he  has  studied  in  his  high-school 
course,  with  the  time  given  to  each  subject,  and  his 
standing  in  his  high-school  work.    If  this  is  found  satis- 
factory  by  the  Committee  on  Admission,  the  candidate 
is  then  admitted  to  the  examiuations.    These  are  four  in 
number,  of  three  hours  each,  and  on  subjects  which  are 
eertain  to  be  taught  by  any  good  high  school.    The  sub- 
jects in  which  the  boy  is  examintd  are  (1)  English,  (2) 
Latin  (or  for  candidates  for  the  degree  of  S.B.,  French 
or  German),  (3)  mathematics,  physics,  or  chemistry,  (4) 
any  subject  not  already  selected  from  the  following  list : 
Greek,  French.  German,  history,  mathematics,  physics, 
chemistry.    The  examiners  who  read  the  books  are  di- 
rected to  return  not  merely  a  grade  but  a  statement  of 
the  quality  of  the  examination  book  and  its  bearing  on 
the  fitness  of  the  candidate  to  study  in  Harvard  College. 
This  plan  has  been  in  operation  only  a  short  time,  but 
it  has  already  proved  to  have  opened  the  doors  of  the 
College  to  a  great  number  of  high  schools  widely  scat- 
tered throughout  the  country.    Furthermore,  the  record 
of  the  first  set  of  men  admitted  under  the  new  plan  was 
so  far  above  the  average  of  their  classmates  who  were 
admitted  under  the  old  plan,  that  it  seems  probable  tliat 
it  is  also  serving  the  purpose  of  bringing  to  the  College 
a  picked  set  of  young  men.    In  1912-13  Princeton,  and 
then  Yale,  adopted  similar  systems. 

The  age  of  entrance  has  been  for  a  number  of  years 
about  eighteen  and  a  half,  with  inconsiderable  variations 


I, 


■  u 


130  HARVARD  COLLRGE 

one  way  or  the  othor  from  year  to  year.    The  average 
age  is  raised  l)y  the  nuinbfr  of  men  in  caeh  ontonng 
class  who,  having  to  work  tli<  ir  way  through  colL-go, 
have  stayed  out  a  year  or  two  in  order  to  earn  m  )ney. 
Frequently,  tlifse  men  bffoine  haders  anient,'  th  ir  cla'^s- 
mates,  and  tli«y  are  always  a  Icav.nins  influence  for 
seriousness  and  stability  in  colk-p-  life.     There  is  little 
probability  that  the  average  aire  will  increase,  for  with 
the  lengthened  course  in  tin    professional  schools  and 
the  increased  number  of  directions  in  which  professional 
training  is  provided,  tli<>  ajr^  of  entering  on  the  work 
of  life  is  now  greatly  postpomd.     A  young  man  who 
intends  to  be  a  doctor,  if  h>-  gets  through  college  at 
twenty-two.  does  not  fini.sh  liis  <()urse  at  the  Medical 
School  till  he  is  twenty-six.  and  tlien,  if  he  is  to  have 
the  best  training,  he  has  a  year  or  two  of  hospital  work. 
Therefore,  the  age  of  entrance  to  college  is  a  grave 
matter. 


!)' 


i  I 


What  young  men  get  from  any  proper  college,  how- 
ever, is  far  from  being  exhausted  by  what  they  get  from 
their  studies  and  from  the  Faculty.     An   invaluable 
feature  of  college  life  is  the  opportunity  to  meet  men  of 
all  sorts  of  origins,  and  the  necessity  of  mingling  with 
them  freely  on  oven  terms.    The  colleges  of  America  are 
the  mingling-pot  of  the  nation  in  a  sense  which  is  prob- 
ably true  to  the  same  extent  of  no  other  country;  for 
with  us  literally  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  youth  go  to 
college,  from  the  sons  of  families  of  wealth  and  ancient 
standing  to  the  sons  of  farmers  and  day-laborers  or  of 
the  oppressed  Jew  who  has  escaped  from  Russia  or 
Poland.    Not  only  are  the  doors  of  our  colleges  open  to 
everybody,  but  the  system  of  public  schools  encourages 
all  kinds  of  young  men  to  throng  to  these  open  doors. 


i  I 


UNDERGRADUATE  LIFE 


131 


When,  as  in  Harvard  ('olli'«. .  two  thousand  two  hun- 
dred young  men  arc  thus  brought  together,  the  com- 
munity whieh  results  is  bound  to  be  iutercstiiig. 

EveVy  college  in  the  country  whieh  has  any  strong 
individuality  has  that  individuality  determined  by  some 
one  strong  note.  At  Harvard  that  note  is  the  liberty  of 
the  individual.  There  is  no  compulsion  in  the  social 
system  of  the  College.  The  clubs  and  societies  are  recog- 
nized to  be  private  associations,  and  as  such  make  no 
effort  to  influence  the  management  of  athletics  or  of 
class  elections.  All  men  are  free  to  find,  not  only  their 
own  level,  but  also  their  own  kind.  Congeniality  :md 
human  interest  are  the  only  conditions  of  association 
among  undergraduates  at  Harvard. 

Within  the  last  generation,  during  whieh  the  number 
of  students  has  more  than  doubled,  undergraduate  life 
has  of  necessity  greatly  changed  in  its  organization. 
While  the  classes  still  ran  below  two  hundred,  it  was  in 
some  degree  possible  for  all  members  of  a  class  to  know 
one  another,  or  at  any  rate  to  know  about  one  another. 
Under  such  conditions  class  and  college  organization  was 
simple  and  informal ;  certain  clubs  usually  contained  the 
leading  members  of  the  class;  and  the  classes  looked  nat- 
urally to  these  men  for  guidance.    Occasionally,  when 
strong  leaders  were  not  members  of  these  dubs,  there 
would  be  grumbling  and  perhaps  rebellion,  as  in  the  case 
of  a  class  in  the  middle  seventies  in  which  dissension 
ran  so  high  that  it  was  impossible  to  elect  officers  for 
Class  Day.     Sometimes  this  unformulated  aristocracy, 
which  was  a  relic  of  older  New  England  and  reached 
hack  to  the  days  when,  as  Governor,  John  Winthrop 
could  speak  publicly  of  the  "  baser  sort,"  presumed  on 
its  powers  and  its  importance.     On  the  whole,  however, 
down  to  the  middle  of  the  eighties,  what  was  once  called 


\ 


132 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


\\ 


"  the  apostolic  succession  "  managed  the  undergraduate 
life  of  Harvard  College  satisfactorily. 

Even  in  those  days  outsiders  of  force  had  their  chance, 
and  tiiere  were  always,  in  the  clubs  which  formed  the 
apex  of  the  college  pyramid,  men  who  had  come  to  col- 
lege as  strangers.  An  aristocracy  does  not  gear  well 
with  a  denioeraey,  however,  and  when  the  democracy  be- 
gins to  grow  in  numbers  it  inevitably  produces  more 
available  leaders.  Moreover,  it  is  a  general  phenomenon 
in  American  colleges  that  a  system  of  undergraduate 
societies  which  provides  adequate  organization  for  the 
days  of  small  numbers,  breaks  down  when  the  numbers 
grow.  Tlien  if  the  old  small-college  system  clings  to  its 
powers  and  privileges  there  follows  a  time  of  trouble 
and  distress.  When  a  large  body  is  trying  to  burst  open 
its  carapace  and  this  does  not  crack,  something  must 
explode.  Fortunately  for  Harvard,  the  old  small-col- 
lege system  gave  way  comparatively  easily. 

An  outward  symptom  of  the  change  may  be  traced 
in  the  matter  of  success  and  failure  in  athletics.  Prom 
about  the  middle  of  the  eighties,  when  the  classes  began 
regularly  to  exceed  two  hundred  and  to  increase  rapidly, 
the  athletic  prowess  of  Harvard  suddenly  collapsed  and 
the  University  teams  and  crews  became  almost  a  byword. 
Then,  for  about  fifteen  years,  there  was  a  time  of  chaos 
and  distress.  The  budding  democracy,  which  was  taking 
the  place  of  the  older  traditional  aristocracy,  had  not 
yet  found  itself,  and  with  the  best  of  intentions  the 
undergraduates  did  not  know  how  to  work  together. 
By  insensible  degrees,  towards  the  latter  part  of  the 
nineties,  the  new  system  crystallized.  Class  elections 
were  purged  of  club  interests,  and  captains  and  man- 
ngeis  of  the  crews  and  teams  were  chosen  for  their  force 
as  leaders  and  for  executive  capacity.    The  class  officers 


UNDERGRADUATE  LIFE 


133 


were  expected  to  serve  the  class  as  a  whole  and  to  justify 
their  election  by  hard  work,  and  not  to  look  upon  it  as 
a  compliment  to  their  own  acquired  or  inherited  posi- 
tions.   At  the  same  time,  efforts  which  were  increasingly 
successful  were  made  to  bring  all  the  elements  of  the 
classes  together  on  even  terms.    It  is  obvious  that  as  the 
classes  ran  up  to  five  hundred  and  six  hundred  in  num- 
ber, intelligence  and  effort  were  necessary  to  bring  about 
this  most  desirable  end.    In  the  last  few  years  it  seems 
to  have  been   attained.     E(iuality   of  opportunity  in 
athletics  and  in  the  general  life  of  the  College  is  now 
taken  as  a  matter  of  course.    At  the  same  time,  as  the 
old  clubs  and  societies  did  not  enlarge  their  numbers, 
new  ones  sprang  up  beside  them.    Thus  each  small  club 
or  society  became  a  smaller  factor  in  the  life  of  the  whole 

class. 

With  this  change  came  the  feeling  that  liberty,  in 
ord'T  to  produce  democracy,  must  add  to  itself  not  only 
cHiuality  of  .pportunity  but  also  fraternity,  and  for  the 
last  fifteen  or  twenty  years  the  best  men  in  the  classes 
have  felt  their  responsibility  for  bringing  the  whole  class 
together  on  even  and  cordial  terms.    The  class  organiza- 
tions are  now  working  organizations.    The  presidency  of 
a  class  carries  a  burden  of  responsibility  which  some- 
times interferes  with  college  work.    The  president  is  ex- 
pected to  keep  track  of  the  activities  of  the  class  and  to 
know  more  or  less  about  what  is  going  on  in  it.     He 
appoints  committees  to  organize  class-smokers  and  class- 
dinners,  and  he  consults  with  the  officers  of  other  classes 
and  of  the  College  concerning  the  welfare  of  the  College. 
The  feeling  of  solidarity  in  the  classes  increases  vig- 
orously  after  graduation.     The  increasing  importance 
and  joyousness  of  the  class  reunions  at  the  end  of  three 
years,  and  then  of  each  successive  period  of  five  years, 


h 


i! 


•J.  Vim 


134 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


hi' 


M 


V 


I'  I  ■ 


I     i 


welds  the  members  of  the  class  into  a  constantly  closer 
friendship.  Graduates  often  are  surprised  to  find  that, 
by  the  time  their  class  has  been  ten  or  fifteen  years  out 
of  college,  the  old  college  lines  of  association  are  broken 
down.  Men  who  M-ere  not  much  known  in  college  come 
to  the  front,  and  men  who  w'^'*e  leaders  there  do  not 
always  establish  their  leadership  in  after  life.  The  ' 
class  gatherings  of  twenty  and  twenty-five  years  after 
giaduation  have  a  general  good-fellowship  that  was 
hardly  known  among  the  older  classes  in  undergraduate 
days.  The  recent  classes  will  find  much  less  change 
in  this  respect,  for  the  College  as  a  whole,  in  spite  of  the 
great  increase  in  numbers,  is  more  closely  organized 
than  it  used  to  be. 

One  force  which  has  made  for  unity  of  feeling  in 
the  College  has  been  the  concentration  of  the  control 
of  athletics  in  an  Athletic  Committee,  in  which,  besides 
three  members  of  the  Faculty,  there  are  three  graduates 
selected  by  the  Corporation,  and  three  undergraduates 
elected  by  the  captains  and  managers  of  the  major  teams. 
This  organization  has  increased  the  feeling  that  ath- 
letics is  the  concern  of  the  College  as  a  whole.  Added 
to  this  force  is  the  fact  that  the  constant  defeats  of 
twenty  and  twenty-five  years  ago  forced  the  under- 
graduates to  develop  a  system  by  which  all  available 
athletic  material  is  brought  to  the  surface  in  order  to 
be  tried  out  for  the  University  teams.  To-day  each 
Freshman  class  is  gone  through  as  with  a  fine-tooth  comb 
for  available  athletic  material.  Upper-class  men  and 
graduates  take  an  active  part  in  the  search,  and  every 
boy  who  has  strength  and  the  athletic  instinct  is  brought 
out  for  the  sport  in  which  he  is  most  likely  to  be  success- 
ful. The  variety  of  uniforms  when  the  candidates  for 
the  Freshman  football  team  line  up  in  the  autumn  is  be- 


ATHLETIC  CONCERNS  135 

uildering;  half  the  schools  in  the  country  seem  to  be 
represented  by  the  letters  on  their  sweaters.    In  athlot.es, 
Moreover,   the   mingling  is   on   perfectly   even   terms. 
Certain  schools  naturally  have  prestige,  but  a  boy  who 
comes  from  a  far  Western  state  is  not  apt  to  know  much 
about  schools  in  the  East,  and  he  knows  nothing  and 
cares  nothing  about  the  societies  which,  a  generation 
ago,    dominated   athletics    and    all    college    hie.      The 
record  of  victories  in  the  last  five  or  ten  years  seems  to 
«how  that  the  new  system  is  working  well.    In  athletics 
as  in  war,  esprit  do  corps  is  essential  for  victory,  and 
there  can  be  no  esprit  de  corps  when  there  is  dissen- 

""^This  state  of  affairs-a  free  and  open  democracy  in 
^vhich  leadership  goes  by  desert-is  a  now  and  happy 
development.    It  is  a  new  one  at  Harvard  largely  be- 
cause  in  the  days  of  the  small  classes  it  was  not  neces- 
sary     Then  the  democracy  of  the  college  was  like    he 
democracy  of  the  older  New  England,  which,  as  has 
;l:r  said'  was  based  on  a  strong  and  ancient  tradition 
of  aristocracy.    The  democracy  in  the  older  >^ew  Eng- 
land days  was  limited  to  public  interests;  and  though  it 
^ght  bo  that  every  voter  called  every  other  voter  by 
his  first  name,  there  were  still  leading  families  and  un- 
formulated  but   entirely    real   soeia    strata.     To^ay 
though  societies  and  clubs  exist  at  Harvard,  as  will  be 
shown  a  little  later,  they  are  generally  inconspicuous  to 
men  outside  of  them,  and  their  inflronce  on  the  gen- 
eral college  life  is  unimportant. 

The  chief  common  interest  of  the  College  as  a  whole, 
at  Harvard  as  in  all  other  American  colleges,  is  un^ 
doubtcdly  athletics;  and  in  the  main  what  can  be  said 
of  athletics  at  Harvard  is  about  what  might  be  said  of 


I 


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136 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


it  at  any  other  American  university.  I  shall,  therefore, 
iu  those  pages,  try  to  confine  myself  to  what  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  place. 

In  general,  as  in  other  American  college?  .ihletics 
seems  to  doiuiuate  the  minds  of  undergraduates  more 
than  it  actually  docs.  In  the  first  place,  athletics  makes 
more  news  for  the  newspapers,  both  undergraduate 
journals  and  the  public  press,  tlian  do  intellectual  in- 
terests. It  is  extremely  ditlicult  to  make  items  about  a 
piece  of  research  in  a  laboratory  or  the  Library;  and 
since  the  beginning  of  time  muscle  has  been  looked  on 
as  one  of  the  important  constituents  of  a  hero. 

The  most  distinctive  feature  of  athletics  at  Harvard 
io  that  the  season  in  every  branch  of  sport  closes  with  a 
contest  with  Yale.  There  are  many  other  contests,  and 
contests  with  rivais  for  whom  there  is  strong  respect  and 
good  feeling,  but  a  season  is  really  successful  only  when 
it  ends  with  a  victory  over  the  ancient  rivals  at  New 
Haven. 

The  major  sports,  as  they  are  called  at  Harvard  as 
elsewiierc,  are  football,  track  athletics,  baseball,  rowing, 
and  hockey;  and  the  University  teams  in  these  sports 
alone  arc  entitled  to  the  H  on  their  sweaters  which 
is  tho  dream  of  most  school-boys  who  are  looking  for- 
ward to  Harvard.  The  organization  of  these  major 
sports  is  undertaken  with  great  seriousness ;  and  where 
so  large  a  body  of  students  is  concerned,  and  where 
graduates  keep  up  so  intense  an  interest  in  athletics, 
the  organization  is  bound  to  be  formidable.  Each  team 
has,  besides  its  captain,  a  manager  who  is  responsible 
for  a  mass  of  business.  In  especial,  he  is  held  responsible 
by  the  graduate  athletic  management  for  the  avoiding 
of  excessive  extravagance.  The  manager  is  always  a 
Senior,  who  is  selected  by  the  captain  of  the  team  with 


ATHLETIC  CONCERNS 


137 


the  approval  of  the  Athletic  Committee,  after  a  com- 
pe  it  on  in  the  Sophomore  and  Junior  years      In  the 
Sophomore  year  a  call   is   issued  through  the   dady 
Cinison  for  candidates  for  the  management  of  the  dil 
or  nt     ean-.     The   men   who   present   the.nselves  are 
s  gued  by  the  manager  for  the  year  to  various  errand 
nfminor  chores,  and  thus  have  a  chance  to  show  the 
assiduity  and  business  capacity.     On  the  basis  of  this 
ompemion,   a  Sophomore  is   selected   assistant  man- 
Ir    who,  if  he  does  well  that  year  and  again  as  a 
jSor  is  likely  to  be  chosen  manager.    Friendship  has 
f  consider  b/part  in  the  choice  in  the  end   and  there 
I  still  reason  for  some  dissatisfaction  with  t  -  ireedom 
of  the   competition.     But  since  it  is  f-^'^Y'  he  other 
,uanager  shall  be  agreeable  to  the  captain  and  the  othe 
"nemb'rs  of  the  team,  success  in  business  management 
cannot  be  the  only  ground  for  choice. 

The  chief  sport  of  the  autumn  is  footba  1    xvhicli  is 
taken  by   undergraduates  and  graduates  alike  with  a 
l:Housness  to  be' matched  only  by  the  -iou-^wit  i 
uhich  Englishmen  look  on  the  boat-races  bet^^een  Ox- 
lord  and  Cambridge.    To  be  a  successful  coach  is  to  go 
down   to   fame.     Ex-Governor-General   lorbes   of    the 
Philippines  first  made  his  mark  by  coaching  a  I  arvard 
football  team  which  beat  Yale  in  the  days  w  len  tha 
was  a  very  rare  occurrence.     In  recent  years  there  has 
,!^n  a  graduate  coach  who  has  been  paid  a  handsonie 
salary.    He  calls  out  a  number  of  old  players    o  ass. 
him  in  the  work,  most  of  whom  give  their  time.     The 
work  of  the  coach  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  autumn 
season  of  actual  games.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Inter- 
collegiate Rules  Committee,  which  each  year  gnes  long 
and  careful  discussicm  to  changes  in  the  rules,  and  he 
nuist  keep  track  of  all  the  available  material  m  Col- 


138 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


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I    .    1 


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lege.  In  the  spring  there  is  a  short  season  of  practice 
for  football. 

The  real  work  begins  in  the  early  autumn,  usually  a 
week  or  two  before  College  opens,  with  practice  in  the 
rudiments  of  the  game.  The  players  must  learn  to 
catch  the  ball,  to  hold  on  to  it,  to  start  quickly  and 
low.  Thoy  must  throw  themselves  at  the  tackling 
dummy  and  learn  to  disregard  bruises.  There  are 
usually  about  eight  regular  games  in  the  season.  The 
earlier  ones  are  short  games  with  the  teams  of  smaller 
colleges,  which  are  looked  on  as  practice  games.  By 
the  end  of  October,  the  opponents  become  more  serious, 
and  the  season  approaches  its  climax  in  the  Yale  game 
through  games  with  strong  teams  which  not  infrequently 
are  victorious. 

The  Yale  game,  which  is  regularly  played  on  the 
Saturday  before  Thanksgiving,  at  New  Haven  and  on 
Soldiers  Field  in  alternate  years,  is  a  great  spectacle. 
When  the  games  are  to  be  played  in  the  Stadium  extra 
wooden  seats  are  built  up  across  the  open  end,  and 
along  the  inner  wall  of  the  Stadium,  so  that  seats  are 
provided  for  forty  thousand  persons.  Tickets  are  at  a 
premium,  and  for  a  week  beforehand  Washington  Street 
in  Boston  is  lined  with  speculators  who  sell  tickets  at 
extravagant  prices.  Every  effort  is  made  to  keep  the 
tickets  from  getting  into  their  hands,  but  there  are 
always  men  to  whom  ten  or  twenty  dollars  for  their 
riglit  to  draw  two  tickets  is  a  great  temptation. 

On  the  day  of  the  game.  Soldiers  Field  and  the  en- 
trance to  it  are  thronged  by  half-past  twelve.  Harvard 
Square  and  the  streets  near  the  Stadium  are  lined  with 
hawkers  of  the  colors  of  both  teams  in  flags,  buttons,  and 
sleeve-bands,  and  the  great  gray  Stadium  itself  is  trans- 
formed into  a  mass  of  dark  color,  relieved  with  red  and 


ATHLETIC  CONCERNS 


139 


blue  As  the  time  for  the  ganu-  approaches,  and  the 
tcunis  trot  in  after  their  captains,  the  cheering  breaks 
forth  and  the  cheer-leaders  for  Yale  on  one  side  ot  the 
field  and  Harvard  on  the  other,  begin  their  strange 
activities.  Between  the  halves,  each  side  sings  its  eol- 
lege  songs,  often  with  admirable  effect.  Once  the  gan.e 
has  begun,  there  is  either  tanse  silence,  or  frenzied 
cheering  from  the  side  which  is  winning  and  desperate 
cheering  from  the  side  which  is  losing.  The  game  is 
one  of  the  great  sights  of  America. 

After  the  football  season  out-of-door  sports  at  Har- 
vard are  dependent  on  a  harsh  and  uncertain  climate. 
Skating  out-of-doors  sometimes  begins  by  Thanksgiving, 
sometimes  not  until  January.    Hockey,  therefore,  which 
has  made  great  progress  in  popularity  in  the  last  few 
years    what  between  warm  weather  and  snow  leads  a 
precarious  life.    Now  that  there  is  a  rink  of  artificial 
ice  in  Boston,  the  hockey  team,  at  any  rate,  is  able  to 
get  regular  exercise,  and  the  game,  which  is  compara- 
tively new  in  the  United  States,  has  gained  ground 
rapidly  and  is  now  one  of  the  so-called  "  major  sports. 
Most  of  the  preparatory  schools  now  have  rinks  which 
are  kept  clear  of  snow  in  winter,  and  at  some  of  the 
boarding-schools  it  is  an  important  part  of  the  winter 
life     At  Harvard  the  most  important  hockey  games  are 
those  with  Princeton  and  with  Yale,  though  the  games 
with  McGill  University  of  Montreal  have  the  prestige 
of  international  contests. 

Besides  the  University  hockey  team,  there  are  many 
other  teams  playing,  and  in  recent  years  the  Student 
Council  has  organized  a  regular  series  of  scrub  games. 
The  Athletic  Association  provides  several  out-ot-door 
rinks  which  are  kept  flooded  and  free  of  snow,  and  on 
these,  scrub  teams  of  joyously  variegated  names,  sucH 


I*" 
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I",  \ 


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140 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


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il 


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as  the  Chuek-a-piicks,  tin;  Fortimo-IIunters,  the  Easy 
Marks,  and  the  Hliu'  Jays,  nicct  in  a  series  of  games, 
witli  cups  for  the  team  wliieh  wins  the  scries.  Alto- 
gctlier,  seviTal  hmulred  wen  take  part  in  hookey  during 
the  winter. 

With  the  breaking  up  of  the  winter  and  the  reluctant 
approach  of  spring  in  March,  the  spring  atldetics  get 
under  way.  The  chief  of  these  are  tennis,  track  ath- 
letics, l)a.sel)all,  and  rowing,  though  both  lacrosse  and 
Association  football  ("  soccer  ")  attract  a  small,  but 
loyal  and  efficient,  body  of  players.  Rowing,  for  the 
men  who  have  a  chance  for  the  University  and  Fresh- 
man crews,  begins  indoors,  in  the  tank  in  the  LTnivcrsity 
boathouse  or  on  the  rowing  machines.  This  indoor  prac- 
tice is  monotonous  and  not  completely  satisfactory  as 
a  means  of  instruction,  but  it  gets  the  men  together, 
and  tiiey  are  expected  to  keep  in  training;  and  after 
the  practice  in  the  tank  or  on  the  machines  they 
usually  have  a  short  run  together.  When  the  ice  on 
the  Charles  River  breaks  up,  usually  not  later  than  early 
March,  the  crews  go  out  on  the  river ;  and  from  then  on, 
the  coach  gives  close  attention  to  all  men  who  are  likely 
to  win  a  seat  in  the  University  boat  and  to  the  candi- 
dates for  the  Freshman  crew.  Of  these  men  there  are 
usually  in  the  early  part  of  the  season,  four  to  six  crews ; 
and  in  addition  there  are  the  class  crews,  which  have 
a  race  in  May. 

The  system  of  coaching  has  changed  a  good  deal  from 
time  to  time.  The  ideal  system  would  be  to  have  the 
coaching  done  by  a  graduate,  but  it  is  unusual  to  find 
a  graduate  who  is  a  good  coach  and  who  can  also  give 
up  practically  every  afternoon  for  two  or  three  months 
in  the  spring.  Harvard  has  therefore,  of  recent  years, 
like  almost  all  American  colleges  which  put  crews  on  the 


f! 


i  I 


ATHLETIC  CONCERNS 


141 


water,  had  a  profossioual  coadi.  He  has  been,  how- 
,.v.T,  n-yarded  ratliei-  as  an  instructor  in  rowing,  and 
h..  is  under  the  direction  of  the  captain  of  the  crew  and 
is  advised  by  a  committee  of  graduates.  At  Harvard 
tlie  captain  has  always  had  the  active  direction  of  the 
crew  and  the  final  decision  about  its  make-up. 

In  recent  years  the  University  crew  has  been  tenta- 
tively chosen  early  in  the  season,  but  a  second  crew  is 
kept  together  and  the  two  have  frequent  races  and 
there  are  frequent  shifts  of  men  from  one  boat  to  the 
other.  Towards  the  end  of  May  there  is  usually  a  two- 
mile  race  with  Cornell,  alternately  on  the  Charles  River 
and  at  Ithaca.  By  this  time  the  University  crew  is 
generally  chosen.  In  1912  Princeton  took  part  in  this 
race.  The  second  crew  has  in  recent  years  rowed  in 
the  American-Henley  Regatta  at  Philadelphia.^  Al)out 
the  same  time  the  Freshman  crews  have  various  races 
with  near-by  schools,  most  of  them  being  rowed  on  the 

Charles. 

The  contests,  however,  towards  which  all  rowing 
tends  are  the  races  with  Yale  at  New  London  on  the 
day  after  Commencement;  and  towards  these  races  all 
the  long  months  of  hard  work  are  pointed.  The  races 
with  Yale  have  been  rowed  since  1878  on  the  Thames 
River  above  the  railroad  bridge  at  New  London.  Origi- 
nally there  were  only  eight-oared  races  between  the 
University  and  the  PVeshman  crews  of  the  two  institu- 
tions ;  but  four-oared  races  between  the  substitutes  have 
now  become  a  regular  part  of  the  regatta,  and  in  the  last 
two  or  three  years  there  have  been  informal  races  be- 
tween Freshman  fours  and  second  University  fours, 
and  usually  a  half-mile  race  between  crews  made  up  of 

'  In   1914  the  second  crew  won  the  Grand  Challenge  Cup  at 
ileuley  on  Uie  Thames,  Enghuid. 


! 


142 


IIAIJVAKl)  COLLKGE 


i: 


!»' 


n 


t 

I   1 


fjraduates  who  arc  liiniUd  strictly  to  one  or  two  days 
of  pr('[)aration. 

Tlio  crt'ws  of  both  ooUi'rcs  po  to  New  London  ten 
days  or  a  fnitiii^'ht  bofore  thi-  races  and  are  allowed 
to  take  some  of  their  dual  examinations  at  the  quarters. 
Eaeh  crew  has  its  peri'ianent  (juarters,  with  boathouses, 
and  eoiuforts  somewhat  beyond  those  of  camping  life. 
On  the  day  of  the  races  preat  throngs  of  people  come 
from  Hoston  and  New  York  and  from  greater  distances. 
On  botli  sides  of  the  river  are  railroads  on  which  obser- 
vation trains  arc  run,  consisting  of  long  trains  of  flat 
ears  with  tiers  o<"  seats.  The  four-oar  and  the  Fresh- 
man crews  usually  row  their  two-mile  races  in  the  morn- 
ing, one  starting  at  the  Xavy  Yard  where  the  other  ends; 
and  the  University  four-mile  race  is  apt  to  be  rowed  at 
high  tide  in  the  afternotm.  In  1914,  the  two  crews  had 
rowed  forty-oight  races  against  eaeh  other,  and  of  that 
number  each  had  won  twenty-four.  Eaeh  has  had  long 
series  of  victories,  as  is  the  ease  in  P:ngland  in  the  races 
between  O.xford  and  ("ambridge.  In  the  twenty-one 
years  from  1S85  to  lOO.j,  inclusive,  Yale  won  all  but 
three  of  the  races.  In  the  .six  years  beginning  in  1908, 
Harvard  won  all  the  races. 

Rowing  has  always  stood  liigh  at  Harvard,  and  the 
boats  have  been  manned  by  men  of  admirable  quality. 
The  number  of  those  who  have  reached  success  in  later 
life  is  notable,  beginning  with  President  Eliot  and  Pro- 
fessor Alexander  Agassiz,  who  were  on  the  first  Harvard 
crew  which  rowed  with,  and  beat,  Yale. 

The  baseball  men  at  Harvard  have  the  advantage  for 
early  practice  of  a  large  baseball  cage.  Here  the  pitch- 
ers and  catchers  are  given  practice  and  instruction  in 
their  respective  parts,  and  the  other  men  have  practice 
in  batting  and  lieidiag.     The  tardy  and  variable  spring 


ii' 


ATHLETIC  CONCERN'S 


143 


of  New  England  makes  out-of-<loor  practice  uncertain 
and  full  of  discomfort  until  the  'nd  of  April.    Usually 
the  nine  goes  off  on  a  trip  during  the  spring  holidays, 
which  come  in  the  second  or  third  week  of  the  month. 
When  they  return,  the  regular  schedule  begins,  with, 
usually,  two  games  a  week.    In  baseball,  however,  as  in 
all  other  sports  at  Harvard,  the  linal  end  of  the  team  is 
to   win    1    )m   Yale.     The   Yale   games   com.-   in   Com- 
mencement  week.     The  first   game   is   played   at   New 
Haven  on  Tuesday,  and  the  return  game  at  Cambridge 
I'-o  next  day.    If  each  collogo  wins  one  of  these  games, 
a  final  and  deciding  game  is  played  on  neutral  ground 
on  the  succeeding  Saturday.     In  the  forty-five  years  in 
which  the  series  have  been  played  with  Yale,  Harvard 
lias   won   in    twenty-four   and   Yale    in   eighteen.      In 
three  years  the  series  was  tied  and  there  was  no  de- 
ciding game. 

Besides  the  regular  work  for  the  l^niversity  team, 
there  is  a  long  series  of  scrub  baseball  ii  mcs  for  cups 
presented  by  Joseph  Leiter,  '91.  These  scrub  teatiis 
have  the  same  sort  of  fantastic  names  as  the  scrub 
hockey  teams,  and  they  play  with  coi  iderable  earnest- 
ness. 

The  men  in  track  athletics  also  get  out  into  regular 
practice  in  the  early  spring,  though  for  some  of  the 
sports  gymnasium  work  is  feasible.  There  is  a  board 
track  behind  the  gj-mnasium.  on  which  the  men  are 
able  to  keep  in  condition  during  the  winter,  and  the 
long-distance  runners  especially  get  good  practice 
here.  P.y  the  first  part  of  April,  real  business  begins, 
and  then  Soldiers  Field  is  filled  with  runners,  hurdlers, 
jumpers,  shot-putters,  and  hammer-tlimwers,  all  work- 
ing under  their  respective  coaelf  s.  There  are  two 
"  dual  meets"  in  .May,  one  witlj  D:irtmouth  or  with 


^1: 


Ml 


144 


IIAIiVAUD  COLLIXIK 


i 


Ji 


!^' 


r  s 


Cornell,  and  tlie  othtT,  in  llie  following  week,  with 
Yale.  Ilnrvanl  also  sends  a  team  to  take  pail  in  the 
Intercollegiate  games.  The  latter  are  not  very  satis- 
I'aotory  for  the  large  universities,  because  of  the  uncer- 
tainty which  is  introduced  by  the  appearance  of  single 
men  from  many  small  colleges  all  over  the  country  who 
can  carry  off  i)oints  in  one  or  two  events.  The  dual 
meet  with  Yale  is  the  important  thing,  and  the  event 
in  which  the  College  takes  most  interest.  In  the  twenty- 
three  years  in  which  the  two  universities  have  held 
these  meets,  Harvard  has  won  eleven  victories  and  Yale 
twelve. 

Though  lacrosse  has  not  yet  been  admitted  to  a  place 
among  the  major  sports,  and  has  not  attracted  general 
interest  in  the  College,  the  team's  record  of  successes 
has  been  admirable,  and  it  has  won  championships 
pretty  consistently  for  a  good  many  years.  At  present, 
more  men  seem  to  be  drawn  into  the  competition  for  the 
teams.  The  game  has  been  notable  for  the  number  of 
students  with  high  records  in  scholarship  who  have 
played  in  championship  teams. 

The  most  popular  sport  in  the  spring  is  tennis.  The 
Athletic  Association  maintains  numerous  tennis  courts, 
for  the  use  of  which  a  small  fee  is  charged,  sufficient  to 
keep  them  in  condition.  These  courts  are  in  use  practi- 
cally all  day  in  the  spring  and  autumn.  A  regular  tour- 
nament is  held  for  the  College  championship,  and  a  Uni- 
versity team  is  sent  to  the  Intercollegiate  tournament. 

The  river  in  the  spring  is  often  crowded  with  boats. 
Both  the  University  and  the  Weld  boathouses  have 
wherries  for  beginners,  and  instructors  who  teach  men 
the  rudiments  of  rowing  in  racing  boats.  Besides  the 
wherries  and  shells,  there  arc  pair-oars  and  four-oars  at 
the  disposal  of  men  who  want  to  row.     In  the  season, 


ii 


THE  ATHLETIC  COMMITTEE 


115 


before  the  elHss-races,  there  may  be  as  many  as  fifteen 
or  twenty  eights  out  on  the  river. 

The  whole  system  of  athletics  is  under  the  eontrol  and 
direction  of  the  Committee  on   Athletic   Sports,  which 
in  the  jjfcneration  since  its  creation  has  dealt  with  many 
troubled  (luestions  of  amateur  standing,  and  has  kept 
iithletics    from    entirely    dominating    college    life.     An 
athletic  committee  was  first  appointed  in  1882.     lieiore 
that  time,  there  was  no  athletic  problem  in  American 
colleges.     Then  a  professor  drew  the  attention  of  the 
Faculty    to    the    schedule    of    the    baseball    team    for 
the  coming  season,   in   which  there  were  twenty-eight 
games,  of  which  nineteen  were  to  be  played  away  from 
Cambridge,  and  be  inquired  how  much  time  it  was  sup- 
posed that  the  members  of  the  nine  would  give  to  their 
college   work.     After  three  years  two   undergraduates 
were  added  to  the  committee,  and  in  1888  the  committee 
was  again  remodeled  and  constituted  in  the  form  which 
it  has  to-day,  consisting  of  three  members  of  the  Faculty, 
three  graduates  of  the  College  appointed  by  the  Presi- 
dent  and   Fellows  with  the  consent  of  the  Overseers, 
iind  three  undergraduates  chosen  by  the  captains  and 
managers  of  the   leading  teams.     This  has  proved  an 
admirable  constitution.     In  practice,  the  graduates  arc 
ai)t  not  to  get  to  the  meetings  very  regularly,  and  the 
business  is  transacted    by   the    Faculty   members   and 
undergraduates,  always  with  entire  harmony  and  rea- 
sonableness.   As  precedents  have  been  established,  more 
and  more  authority  has  been  thrown  on  the  chairman 
of  the  committee  and  ho  now  settles  many  questions 
ofTliand. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  few  men  have  deserved  better 
at  the  hands  of  the  Amu licau  educated  public  than  tho 


!J 


14(5 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


r. 


u 


1,1 


succcssivt'  chi  iniii'ii  of  the  Harvard  Athlt'tie  Committee. 
They  and  their  eoiiiiiiittees  have  hrokeu  the  way  through 
the  jungle  of  eoniplieated  quest!  ns  arising  under 
amateur  standing  in  a  denioeraey,  where  education 
rcaehes  all  layers  of  soeiety.  The  rulings  which  they 
have  made  have  been  eonstantly  followed  elsewhere;  and 
they  have  bieu  freely  consulted  Ity  the  authorities  of 
other  collegi's  in  difficult  cases.  Considering  that  the 
whole  prohU'Mi  of  athletics  is  only  a  generation  old  and 
that  all  questions  have  had  to  be  discussed  from  the 
bottom  up,  the  progress  has  been  highly  satisfactory. 
There  are  still  (luestions  to  be  settled;  in  particular 
the  rules  regarding  amateur  standing  are  still  too 
technical ;  but  the  conuuittee  has  established  at  Har- 
vard the  principle  that  college  athletics  must  rest  on 
three  principles:  in  the  first  place,  the  College  exists 
for  intellectual  purposes,  and  whenever  any  conflict 
arises  between  these  and  athletics,  the  latter  must  give 
way ;  in  the  second  place,  athletics  has  no  place  in  the 
College  except  as  a  means  of  promoting  healthy  sport; 
the  pursuit  of  athletics  for  the  sake  of  money  or  in  a 
spirit  of  enmity  must  be  held  always  an  evil;  in  the 
third  place,  the  members  of  a  faculty  arc  unfitted  by 
temperament  and  by  the  pressure  of  their  own  work  for 
settling  athletic  fpiestions  except  with  the  counsel  and 
support  of  graduates  and  undergraduates. 

The  business  management  of  University  athletics  has 
been  for  a  number  of  years  in  the  hands  of  a  Graduate 
Treasurer,  for  the  amount  of  money  to  bo  handled 
long  since  outgrew  the  business  capacity  of  undergrad- 
uates. The  resort  of  graduates  and  of  the  general  public 
to  football  and  i)ascball  games  has  increased  rapidly  of 
recent  years,  and  at  present  shows  no  signs  of  falling 
off.     Undergraduates  are  admitted  by  season  ticket  to 


Ml 


ATHLETIC  CONCERNS 


147 


al!  mes,  but  there  seems  no  reason  at  present  for 
ret.  .-ing  the  price  of  admission  to  tht'  general  public. 
The  great  sums  of  money  which  are  thus  received  pro- 
duce the  most  serious  problem  of  athletics  which  has 
yet  to  be  worked  out  in  American  colleges. 

At  present,  the  money  is  for  the  most  part  expended 
with  reasonable  advantage,  though  the  cost  of  main- 
taining the  teams  is  still  far  too  large.  Captains  and 
trainers  can  be  taught  economy  only  under  stress  and 
unceasing  watchfulness.  The  Athletic  Committ^^e  at 
Harvard  has  sternly  set  its  face  against  unnecessary  ex- 
penditures and  has  largely  reduced  them.  Ea'Ai  man 
at  the  training  table  pays  what  he  would  pay  for  his 
board  at  his  regular  boarding-place,  and  only  the  excess 
is  paid  by  the  Athletic  Association.  The  money  laid 
out  on  uniforms  and  equipment  and  for  travel  is  vigor- 
ously scrutinized,  and  captains  and  managers  must  give 
an  exact  account  of  all  their  expenditures. 

What  is  left  over,  after  paying  for  the  expenses  of 
the  teams  and  their  training,  goes  to  the  permanent 
improvement  of  athletic  fields.  There  are  not  yet 
enough  tennis  courts  for  general  use,  and  there  is  still 
a  considerable  tract  of  marsh-land  on  Soldiers  Field 
which  must  be  raised  to  level  and  graded.  Moreover 
the  Athletic  Association  .still  has  a  large  balance  to 
pay  on  the  cost  of  the  Stadium,  and  it  has  recently  as- 
sumed the  balance  of  the  expense  of  building  the  Varsity 
Club.  For  a  number  of  years  to  come,  therefore,  the 
Athletic  Association  will  not  be  embarrassed  by  unex- 
pended surplus. 

The  general  management  of  the  Athletic  Association 
is  in  the  charge  of  the  Graduate  Treasurer,  who  is  re- 
sponsible for  economy  on  the  part  of  the  coaches  and 
the  undergraduate  managers.     He  is  also  the  general 


n 
i 


■^4:.= 


148 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


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li     r 


^•f. 


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J 


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athletic  adviser,  cliargcd  with  the  duty  of  promoting 
healthy  atlilotic  exercise  among  as  many  students  as 
can  be  brought  out.  lie  nurses  the  minor  sports  and 
sees  that  they  have  a  full  chance  and  he  is  in  constant 
communication  with  ail  the  coaches  and  captains  of  all 
the  teams.  The  po.ssibilitios  of  health}'  influence  on  the 
undergraduate  body  by  a  good  Graduate  Treasurer  are 
indefinite. 

Aside  from  athletics  undergraduates  have  many  in- 
terests which  are  more  or  less  intellectual  in  character. 

The  history  of  journalism  at  Harvard  is  now  over  a 
hundred  years  old.  The  earliest  paper  published  by 
students  was  the  Harvard  Lyceum,  which  first  appeared 
July  14,  1810,  and  lived  somewhat  more  than  a  year. 
Among  its  editors  were  FIdward  Everett,  and  Samuel 
Gilman,  the  author  of  "  Fair  Harvard."  Some  six- 
teen years  later,  in  March,  1827,  appeared  the  Harvard 
licyistrr,  which  lived  for  nearly  a  year.  On  its  board 
were  George  S.  Hillard,  R.  C.  Winthrop.  and  C.  C. 
Felton.  Two  years  later  the  Collcfjian,  among  the  edi- 
tors of  which  was  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  issued  six- 
teen numbers,  beginning  in  September,  1835.  Har- 
vardiana,  which  had  James  Russell  Lowell  for  one  of 
its  editors,  began  in  1835  and  lived  till  June,  1838.  Then 
there  was  a  gap  until  December,  1H54,  when  the  Harvard 
Maffaziuc  appeared,  which  lasted  till  18G4.  Among  the 
editors  of  this  wore  F.  B.  Sanborn,  Phillips  Brooks,  and 
J.  B.  Greenough.  After  a  lapse  of  two  years,  another 
CoUcfjian  appeared,  which  was  suppressed  by  the  Fac- 
ulty after  three  numbers. 

In  May,  ISOf).  was  founded  tiie  Advocate,  which  has 
been  published  fortnightly  ever  since.  It  has  had  as 
competitors  the  Magenta,  founded  in  1873,  which  later 


COLLEGE  PERIODICALS 


149 


changed  its  name  to  the  Crimson,  iti  1883  bocanie 
merged  with  the  daily  llcmld,  and  is  now  the  daily  col- 
lege paper;  and  the  Harvard  Monthly,  which  was  first 
issued  in  1885.  Besides  these,  there  is  the  Lampoon, 
founded  in  187G,  and  the  Illustrated  Magazine,  founded 
in  18')'J.  The  students  in  the  Law  Sehool  publish  the 
Harvard  Law  Kcvicw  monthly  during  the  aeademie  year, 
and  the  engineering  students  a  quarterly  called  the 
Harvard  Enqinccrituj  Journal.  Other  publications  are 
the  Musical  Review  and  the  Architectural  Magazine. 

The  Crimson,  which  is  a  folio  sheet,  usually  of  eight 
pages,  about  half  of  it  advertising,  prints  daily  through 
the  college  year  accounts  of  games,  meetings,  and  lec- 
tures, and  various  other  items  of  undergraduate  life. 
It  has,  what  is  perhaps  its  most  important  asset,  official 
and  semi-official  notices  of  meetings  and  of  calls  for  ath- 
letic teams;  and  the  officers  of  the  College  use  it  as  a 
tiiedium  for  giving  out  special  notices.  It  has  also  an 
editorial  column  in  which  it  discusses  whatever  matters 
of  undergraduate  interest  occur  to  the  editors  during 
the  year.  On  important  occasions  the  editorial  policy 
is  carefully  discussed  by  the  «>ditors,  since  the  Crimson 
represents  the  undergraduate  opinion,  and  almost  al- 
ways satisfactorily. 

A  place  on  the  Crimson  board  is  won  only  after  an 
exceedingly  keen  competition,  in  which  candidates  think 
night  and  day  of  nothing  but  finding  news.  The  man- 
aging editor  gives  them  assignments  and  they  are  also 
expected  to  show  their  originality  by  tapping  fresh 
sources  of  news.  The  business  managers  gain  their 
places  chiefly  by  their  activity  in  obtaining  advertise- 
ments. For  both  the  editorial  and  the  business  positions 
the  competition  is  so  keen,  and  a  place  on  the  board  is 
so  highly  valued,  that  the  Crimson  is  manned  by  men  of 


I' 
III 


V- 


!'i    .    ' 


I  M 


♦  \ 


11 


irw) 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


force  and  stamling  amoiig^  the  undirgraduati's.  It  is 
undorstood  that  the  paper  is  a  profitable  enterprise  and 
tiiat  generous  dividends  are  paid  caeh  year  to  the 
editors.  They  arc  now  on  the  point  of  building  a  house 
of  their  own,  which  will  have  a  plaec  for  the  printing 
plant  and  comfortable  editorial  rooms. 

Of  the  literary  paper.s,  the  Adracatc,  as  before  stated, 
is  the  oldest.  It  publishes  stories,  verse,  essays,  and 
reviews.  Its  di.stinetive  aim  is  to  be  readable.  It  has 
had   many  distin<juished  editors. 

The  Harvard  Monihfij,  which  was  established  in  1885, 
.soon  after  the  merger  of  the  Crimson  with  the  Daily 
Herald,  has  on  the  whole  aimed  at  a  hij^her  literary  I'^vel 
than  any  other  of  the  college  publications.  It  is  rather 
more  distinctively  the  organ  of  the  literary  .set  and  of 
the  advanced  thinkers  among  the  undergraduates  than 
any  of  the  other  papers.  The  Harvard  Hlustratcd 
Magazine  is  a  more  recent  sheet,  which  prints  articles 
and  stones  of  great  variety,  with  illustrations  from 
drawings  or  from  photographs.  It  is  not  yet  old  enough 
to  have  established  very  strong  trailitions. 

The  Lampoon  is  the  oldest  and  the  most  successful 
college  humorous  paper  in  the  country.  Among  its 
founders  in  187G  were  Robert  Grant,  P.  J.  Stimson  (J. 
S.  of  Dale).  J.  T.  Wheelwright,  F.  G.  Attwood,  whose 
drawings  were  so  long  a  f(>aturc  of  Life,  and  Edward  S. 
Martin.  It  lapsed  for  a  few  months  in  1880-81  but  was 
renewed,  and  has  been  in  vigorous  existence  ever  since. 
Among  the  reviewers  of  the  Lampoon  in  March,  1881, 
were  Curtis  Guild,  '81,  and  William  R.  Thayer.  '81,  the 
biographer  of  Cavour.  Among  other  editors  have  been 
Barrett  Wendell.  77,  C.  A.  Coolidge,  '81.  Owen  Wister, 
'82,  George  Santayana,  '8(i,  Winthrop  Ames,  '95,  C.  M. 
Flandrau,  '95,  and  E.  G.  Knoblauch,  '96.    It  has  always 


t 


i  1. 


CLUBS  AND  SOCIETIES 


151 


liad  a  notable  supply  of  graceful  and  humorous  verse 
and  its  drawings  have  made  up  in  humor  what  they 
have  sometimes  lacked  in  finish.  It  has  prospered  in 
the  world,  for  it  has  a  considerable  circulation  outside 
the  College,  so  that  its  advertising  pages  arc  well  filled. 
Out  of  its  savings  it  has  built  an  admirably  designed 
little  building  in  the  Dutch  style  on  Mt.  Auburn  Street, 
and  its  dinners,  to  which  the  graduates  come  in  con- 
siderable numbers,  have  long  been  famous.  In  188:}, 
John  A.  Mitchell  started  Life  with  the  assistance  of 
some  of  the  Lampoon's  former  editors,  including  F.  G. 
Attwood  and  E.  S.  Martin,  and  "  Lampy  "  familiarly 
refers  to  Life  as  its  child. 

Besides  the  newspapers  there  arc  many  clubs  and 
societies  founded  on  common  intellectual  interests.  In 
the  Harvard  University  Register  there  arc  notices  of 
twenty-one  such  clubs.  A  few  examples  will  show  how 
varied  they  are  in  character:  the  Anthropological  So- 
ciety, the  Boylston  Chemical  Club,  the  IIar^'ard  En- 
gineering Society,  the  Harvard  Mathematical  Club,  the 
Topiariau  Club,  the  Corcle  Frangais,  the  Circolo 
Italiano,  the  Deutscher  Vercin,  the  Harvard  Zionist 
Society,  and  the  Harvard  Dramatic  Club.  At  the  meet- 
ings of  these  societies  there  arc  usually  one  or  more 
pajx'rs  read  by  members,  followed  by  some  simple  repast, 
for  the  social  side  is  an  important  part  of  their  pur- 
pose. 

The  activities  of  these  societies  naturally  vary  con- 
siderably from  year  to  year  with  the  activity  and  effi- 
ciency of  the  officers;  and  one  which  has  been  slum- 
bering may  burst  into  activities  which  suddenly  make 
its  name  familiar  to  the  readers  of  the  Crimson.  These 
societies  usually  have  graduate  students  among  their 
members,  and  they  merge  gradually  into  such  associa« 


I 


1.j2 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


,   J 


i      1 

I' 


tions  as  tlu'  Modern  Language  Confcronco,  which  is  an 
association  coinposcd  of  graduate  students  and  members 
of  the  Fa(!ulty,  before  wliieh  papers  of  much  h-arning 
are  n>ad  and  discussed.  Each  of  the  departments  main- 
tains an  association  or  society  of  this  general  nature. 

JJesides  these  societies  there  are  several  active  musical 
clubs.  The  oldest  of  these  is  the  Pierian  Sodality,  which 
was  founded  in  1808  and  has  had  continuous  existence 
ever  since.  Under  the  old-fashioned  sonorousness  of  its 
name  lives  the  college  orchestra,  which  gives  concerts  in 
Cambridge  and  Boston,  often  ambitious  in  the  type  of 
music  played.  It  has  club-rooms  and  rehearses  twice  a 
month.  The  Glee  Club,  which  gives  many  concerts  in 
Boston  and  the  neighborhood,  has  at  present  about  forty 
members.  In  its  concerts  it  is  often  joined  by  the  Banjo 
Club  and  the  Mandolin  Club,  and  the  three  have  a  com- 
mon organization  under  the  name  of  the  Harvard  Mu- 
sical Clulis.  Besides  these  associations,  there  is  also  the 
Musical  Club,  which  was  founded  in  1898  to  promote 
musical  knowledge  and  appreciation  among  the  members 
of  the  I'niversity.  It  has  fortnightly  musical  meetings, 
at  which  members  and  others  play  informally,  and  an 
annual  fall  cimccrt,  at  which  music  composed  by  its 
members  is  fre(|uently  performed.  The  tradition  of 
music  at  Harvard  has  long  been  strong.  Boston  was  a 
pioneer  in  the  establishment  of  orchestral  music,  and 
the  city  and  the  College  have  acted  and  reacted  on  each 
other  in  their  musical  development. 

The  Harvard  ^lusical  Association,  which  grew  out  of 
the  Pierian  Sodality,  was  founded  in  1837.  For  many 
years  it  maintnined  an  annual  series  of  orchestral  con- 
certs, out  of  which  grew,  through  the  generous  .support 
of  Major  II.  L.  Higginson,  the  Boston  Symphony  Or- 
chestra.    The  Harvard  Musical  Association  has  a  house 


^:1 


DEHATINO  SOCIETIES 


153 


,-,  Boston  on  West  (Vdar  Stmt,  witli  a  large  and  val- 
uable collection  of  music.  Th.re  it  has  fortnightly  mect- 
iiifjs,  with  music.  By  its  constitution,  the  greater  part 
oAt's  membership  must  consist  of  Harvard  graduates. 

Debating  has  had  a  somewhat  checkered  and  spas- 
modic career  at  Harvard,  with  a  good  deal  of  change  in 
the  formal  organization.  At  present,  there  is  a  Harvard 
Debating  Council  which  has  g;'neral  management  of  the 
intercollegiate  debates  with  Yale  and  Princeton.  In 
these  debates,  since  1892,  Harvard  has  won  from  Yale 
seventeen  times  out  of  twenty-one.  and  since  1895 
from  Princeton  ten  times  out  of  seventeen.  The  debat- 
ing was  strongest  when  it  had  the  stimulus  of  Professor 
George  P.  liakor,  '87,  who  practically  created  the 
iiuidern  study  of  argumentation. 

Besides  the  Debating  Council  there  is  a  Freshman  de- 
bating society  and  a  Harvard  chapter  of  the  fraternity 
of  Delta  Sigma  Rho,  the  intercollegiate  debating  society. 
The  Speakers'  Club  was  founded  in  1908,  partly  in  re- 
action against  the  seriousness  of,  and  the  heavy  labor 
involved  in,  intercollegiate  debating.  It  has  fortnightly 
dinners  in  its  club-house,  followed  by  the  discussion  of 
some  subject  announced  beforehand;  it  arranges  for 
occasional  public  addresses  by  members  of  the  Faculty 
or  distinguished  men  from  outside ;  and  it  has  an  annual 
l)rize  contest  in  extemporaneous  speaking. 

The  chief  difficulty  with  debating  at  Harvard  seems  to 
jjc,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  intercollegiate  d.-baters, 
in  their  zest  for  victory,  have  set  a  standard  of  thorough- 
ness which  to  most  undergraduates  seems  out  of  pro- 
portion to  the  value  of  the  results.  Moreover,  the  sub- 
jects which  have  been  discuss»>d  Irnve  been  the  largest 
and  most  complicated  <iuestioiis  which  have  perplexed 
the  nation,  so  that  a  moderate  amount  of  preparation 


1  tl 


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154 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


is  insufficiont  for  tliorouyli  knowlcdf^c,  anil  thorough 
preparation  involves  a  study  of  problems  of  econoiuics 
and  poverniiieiit  beyond  the  resources  and  patienee  of 
n)ost  under},'raduates.  The  questions  have  been  in  the 
iiiiiin  drawn  from  the  seienee  of  economies  or  govern- 
ment rather  tlian  from  politics,  and  for  that  reason  have 
not  drawn  on  the  natural  contentiousness  of  human 
nature. 

Alongside  of  the  d('l)ating  societies,  and  sharing  with 
them  tlieir  interests,  are  various  jmlitieal  societies.  At 
the  time  of  a  i)resi(Iential  election,  the  political  clubs 
proper  always  blossom  into  activity.  Among  others 
which  are  dealing  with  the  active  interests  of  the  day 
are  the  Harvard  Men's  League  for  Woman  Suffrage, 
founded  in  1911,  the  Social  Politics  ('lul>.  founded  in 
1900.  and  the  Harvard  Socialis'  Club,  founded  in  1908. 
Tiiere  is  always  at  Harvard  and  always  will  be  a  body 
of  earnest  radicals  who  belic\f,  to  quote  from  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Social  Politics  Club,  "  that  the  world 
is  not  finished."  Such  men  are  taken  by  the  College  as 
a  whole  with  a  mingling  rf  humor  and  respect.  They 
make  an  active  ferment  which  kccj)s  the  more  serious 
undergraduates  from  stagnating,  though  they  do  not 
often  make  much  impression  on  any  large  portion  of 
the  College. 

The  religious  and  philanthropic  interests  of  the  Col- 
lege are  numerous  and  active,  as  befits  an  institution 
which  was  founded  "  for  the  furthering  of  the  said  col- 
lege and  the  said  mcml)ers  thereof  from  time  to  time  in 
piety,  moralily  and  learning."  In  the  early  days,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  instnK-tion  was  chiefly  religious,  and 
only  grndually  through  the  seventeenth  century  did 
more  worldly  interests  take  the  lead.  Cntil  within  a 
generation,  all  stuilcnts  were  required  to  meet  daily  in 


Till:  liOARI)  OF  I'REACIIERS  IV) 

the  Collifio  Chap.I,  ami  the  I'liivfrsity  maintaius  on  its 
M-al  the  motto,  "  (Miristo  ct  EccIosuk." 

Since  Oetolter,  1880,  attendance  at  daily  prayers  and 
at  tlie  Sunday  services  has  ceased  to  he  compulsory.    At 
tliat  time  also  was  instituted  the  hoard  of  five  preachers, 
wliith  the  liiivcrsity  has  drawn  from  various  Christian 
il.nominations,  and  which  always  includes  some  memhcrs 
who  live  at  a  distance  from  Cambridge.     Each  member 
of  the  board  is  usually  in  service  for  two  terms  of  two 
weeks  each,  during  which  he  occupies  the   preacher's 
rooms  in  Wadsworth  House.    He  conducts  a  short  morn- 
ing service  in  Appleton  Chapel  at  a  quarter  before  nine, 
and  he  has  regular  hours  in  the  rooms  in  Wadsworth 
House  during  which  students  may  call  on  him.    Of  this 
privilege  they   avail   themselves   freely,  and   the  testi- 
mony of  the  preachers  is  that  their  service  on  the  board 
is  most  interesting  and  stimulating.    There  has  been  al- 
ways a  Sunday  srrviee  in  Appleton  Chapel.    For  many 
years  it  was  held  in  the  evening,  but  since  President 
Luwell's  inauguration,  it  has  been  changed  to  the  morn- 
ing, and  the  President  himself  takes  part,  usually  by 
reading  one  of  tlu«  lessons  from  the  Bible.    The  studenta 
liave   responded,   and   this  morning  service   has  taken 
on  the  plea.sant  tone  of  a  family  gathering. 

The  undergraduate  religious  and  philanthropic  in- 
terests are  focused  in  the  Phillips  Brooks  House  Asso- 
ciation.  which  has  its  headquarters  in  Phillips  Brooks 
House.  This  was  built  in  1898-99  as  a  memorial  to 
Bishop  Phillips  Brooks,  'm,  and  it  is  the  home  of  almost 
all   the    religious  and    philanthropic    activities   of    the 

College. 

The  Phillips  Brooks  House  Association  federates  for 
I)hilanthropic  work  the  religious  societies  of  the  Ortho- 
dox-Congregationalist,    Episcopalian,    Roman    Catholic, 


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twtl  riiitariiin  dcrioininntions.  iind  it  lias  bi'sidcs  a  larRc 
nunihcr  of  inilrfii'iidtnt  iimiiiIxis  who  arc  not  afiiliatcil 
with  any  of  th('«e  societies.  The  executive  ca!)inet  of 
the  Association  includes,  Ix'sides  its  own  officers,  the 
presidents  of  tlio  Harvard  rnivcrsit.y  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, of  St.  Paul's  Society  ( Ki»iscopalian),  of  St. 
Paul's  Catholic  Clul).  and  the  llarvard-Andover  Divinity 
Club,  and  the  chainnen  of  the  Social  Service  Com- 
mittee, the  Harvard  .Mission,  and  the  Chapel  Committee, 
and  the  Graduate  Secretary  and  Social  Service  Secretary 
of  the  Cniversity.  In  1!)12  there  were  three  hundred 
and  sixty  men  en<.'aKed  in  social-service  work  at  Har- 
vard under  the  direction  of  the  Association.  The  work 
has  now  prown  so  important  that  it  has  a  graduate  sec- 
retary who  fjives  his  whole  tiiue  to  its  direction. 

The  Social  Service  Committee  has  direct  charge  of 
most  of  the  i)hiIantliroi)ic  work  done  by  students.  It 
sends  teachers  to  the  Prospect  Cnion  and  the  Cam- 
bridtre  Social  Cnion.  both  of  which  support  evening 
classes  for  mechanies,  near  tlie  C(tllege.  and  it  also  sends 
instructors  to  tlie  Cami)ridKe  Youn:,'  Men's  Christian 
Association,  and  details  men  to  help  immigrants,  to  aid 
in  boys'  elubs,  to  work  at  the  juvenile  courts,  and  to 
maintain  home  libraries  and  visit,  both  for  settlements, 
and  for  the  Associated  Charities  of  Boston  and  Cam- 
bridge. There  is  little  parade  al)out  the  work;  men 
run  boys'  clubs  or  do  settlement  work,  or  teach  in 
evening  classes  because  they  want  to  help  things  along. 
The  work-ciN  are  drawn  from  all  parts  of  the  College- 
athletes  and  scholars,  chib  men  and  non-club  men. 
There  an'  so  many  of  them  now  cnga<red  in  this  work 
that  their  inthu-nee  in  .sobering  undergraduate  life  and 
enlarging  the  undergraduati"  horizon  is  an  important 
fact  in  the  Harvard  College  of  to-day. 


:,| 


f'.'\ 


RELlUIOna  SOCIETIES 


157 


Of    the   distinctly    religious,    as    distingiiislu'd    from 
philanthropic,  associations  which  find  a  home  in  I'hillips 
Hrooks  House,  the  Harvard  University  Cliristian  Asso- 
eiation  is  the  oldest,  largest,  and  most  comprehensive. 
It  has  no  sectarian  foundation,  though  as  a  matter  of 
fact  its  members  arc  largely  the  Orthodox  (.'oiigregn- 
tionalists   who   represent   one   development  of   the   old 
Puritan  churches  of  New  England.     It  conducts  classes 
for  the  study  of  the  Bible  and  the  discussion  of  religious 
problems,  and  holds  regular  Sunday  uu  clings  in  Phillips 
iirooks  House.     St.  Paul's  Society,  the  organization  of 
the  Episcopalians  at  Harvard,  has  the  Noble  room  in 
Phillips  Brooks  Hou.se,  where  it  has  a  short  service  every 
Wednesday  evening.     It  also  arranges  regular  courses 
of  lectures  on  subjects  relating  to  the  Episcopal  Church, 
and  a  monthly  corporate  Communion  for  members  of 
the  society.     St.  Paul's  Catholic  Club  was  founded  in 
1S93,  to  bring  together  the  Catholics  of  the  College.     A 
few  years  ago  its  ((uarters  were  moved  from  the  Phillips 
Brooks  House  to  the  Newman  House  on  Mt.  Auburn 
Street,  where  it  has  a  meeting  room  and  library  and 
rooms  for  games.     The  club  has  frequent  meetings,  at 
which  prominent  clergymen  and  laymen  speak,  and  to 
which  non-Catholics  are  welcome.     It  has  a  permanent 
chaplain,  appointed  by  the  pastor  of  St.  Paul's  parish, 
with  the  approval  of  the  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Boston. 
The  Christian  Science  Society  is  not  affiliated  with  the 
Phillips  Brooks  House  Association,  though  its  meetings 
are   held  in  the  Phillips  Brooks   House.     It  arranges 
lectures  from  time  to  time  through  the  board  of  lecture- 
ship of  the  First  Church  of  Christ  Scientist  of  Boston. 
The  Harvard  Mission  consists  of  a  student  committee 
and  a  board  of  graduate  trustees  whose  aim  is  to  increase 
the  interest  of  Harvard  men  in  the  work  of  Christian 


■*?  i 


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MICROCOPY    RESOLUTION    TEST    CHART 

ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No    2 


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158 


i:   RVARD  collp:ge 


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Its  e'hief  interest  at  present  is  in  tlie  IL 


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missions 

Medical  School  in  China.  Tliis  was  establishe<l  at 
Shanghai  in  1911,  to  give  to  the  Chinese  the  best  in- 
struction in  modern  medical  science  that  is  possible 
under  the  circumstances.  Its  special  aim  is  to  train 
native  Chinese  doctors  in  modern  scientific  medicine, 
and  to  maisc  them  both  physicians  and  health  officers 
who  can  tlo  something  to  improve  the  sanitary  condi- 
tions of  China.  It  is  closely  affiliated  with  the  Harvard 
Medical  School. 

All  these  societies  and  associations,  journalistic,  in- 
tellectual, musical,  and  religious,  bring  men  together  on 
some  other  basis  than  the  purely  .social.  They  are  an 
active  force  for  mingling  together  men  from  all  parts 
of  the  country,  from  all  schools,  and  from  all  varieties 
of  social  organization  and  affiliation.  With  so  many  op- 
portunities for  active  interest,  it  is  a  man's  own  fault 
if  he  does  not  find  a  chance  to  develop  his  interests  by 
mixing  with  other  men.  These  activities  do  not  often 
get  into  the  newspapers,  and  they  are  therefore  apt  to 
be  underestimated.  To  get  any  fair  estimate  of  the 
life  of  Harvard  College  they  cannot  be  left  out  of 
account,  for  they  have  a  very  deep  and  strong  effect 
en  the  life  of  the  greater  part  of  the  students  of  the 
College. 


Along  with  these,  as  the  third  chief  interest  of  under- 
graduate life,  are  the  purely  social  clubs  and  societies. 
The  special  character  of  these  at  Harvard,  as  at  most 
American  colleges,  largely  determines  the  distinctive 
tone  of  tile  undergraduate  life.  It  is  somewhat  difficult 
to  give  a  fair  account  of  these  clubs  since  so  much  de- 
pends upon  the  point  of  view  from  which  one  starts. 
To  the  man  who  comes  to  the  College  from  the  West, 


t;: 


SOCIAL  CLUBS 


159 


or  perhaps  from  some  smaller  to\\'n  in  the  East,  the  old 
Harvard  clubs  of  long  traditions  are  apt  to  seem  affairs 
of  minor  and  local  importance,  and  many  students  go 
through  College  knowing  little  or  nothing  about  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  to  the  boy  from  what  Dr.  Holmes 
called  the  Brahmin  caste  of  Boston,  or  from  the  like  so- 
cial stratum  in  New  York  or  Philadelphia,  especially  if 
he  comes  from  one  of  the  large  private  schools  in  Boston 
or  New  York  or  one  of  the  fashionable  church  boarding- 
schools,  the  small  clubs  sometimes  seem  the  largest  fact 
in  undergraduate  life.     The  two  points  of  view  are  so 
divergent,  that  it  is  hard  to  present  the  subject  in  a 
way  which  will  be  fair  to  both.     The  keynote  to  a  fair 
exposition  of  the    social  system  of  Harvard  College  life 
lies,  I  believe,  in  the  dictum  of  a  recent  article  in  an 
undergraduate  magazine,   that  "  the  significant  thing 
about  the  clubs  at  Harvard  is  that  they  arc  unimpor- 
tant."    If  this  be  taken  with  the  emendation  "  unim- 
l)ortant  to  men  outside  of  them,"  we  shall  start  on  a 
lair  basis  for  an  understanding  of  the  system. 

The  largest  club  of  all,  which  has  equal  relations  to 
all  the  others,  is  the  Harvard  Union,  the  membership  in 
wliich  is  open  to  all  students  in  the  University ;  and  the 
fee  of  ten  dollars  is  so  low  as  to  open  its  doors  to  almost 
everybody  who  may  want  to  use  it.    The  Union  inhabits 
a  very  beautiful  and  commodious  club-house,  the  gift  of 
Major  II.  L.  Higginson,  of  the  Corporation,  whose  gen- 
erosity to  the  University  has  been  unceasing  and  is  al- 
ways guided  by  the  most  enlightened  understanding  of 
its'needs.    The  house  has  dining-rooms,  assembly-rooms, 
game-rooms,  and  billiard-rooms,  and,  upstairs,  a  large 
library  fitted  with  an  excellent  collection  of  books,  the 
generous  nucleus  of  which  was  given  by  James  Hazen 
Hvde.  '98.    Two  or  three  book  funds  provide  for  the 


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HARVARD  COLLEGE 


1  I 


increase  of  the  library  and  for  the  provision  of  the  cur- 
rent books.  The  most  notable  feature  of  the  building  is 
the  great  asseinbly-room,  which  is  a  hundred  feet  long 
and  forty  feet  wide,  with  high  paneling  in  oak,  and  fine 
barreled  ceiling.  On  the  walls  are  a  number  of  pictures 
of  distinguished  graduates,  including  a  splendid  portrait 
01  Major  Iligginson  by  John  S.  Sargent. 

The  L'nion  is  very  freely  used.  The  dining-room  is 
crowded  at  certain  hours  and  the  reading-room  and 
libr-i'-y  are  always  well  occupied.  The  managers  pro- 
vide a  regular  course  of  readings  and  entertainments 
and  lectures  by  various  men  of  distinction  thrnughout 
the  winter,  and  in  the  smaller  rooms  many  meetings  of 
societies  are  held. 

In  1912  a  wing  was  added  to  the  Union  to  house  the 
Varsity  Club,  which  consists  of  past  and  present  mem- 
bers of  University  teams  and  crews.  It  is  dedicated  to 
the  memory  of  Francis  Hardon  Burr,  of  the  class  of 
1910,  captain  of  the  football  team,  a  member  of  the  base- 
ball and  track  teams,  and  a  good  scholar,  who  died  of 
typhoid  fever  in  the  autumn  after  his  graduation,  leav- 
ing behind  him  a  memory  of  high  character  and  great 
promise.  The  Varsity  Club  has  rooms  for  the  various 
training  tables  and  is  the  center  of  the  athletics  of  the 
college. 

Of  the  clubs  and  societies  which  are  essentially  social 
in  purpose,  there  are  thirty  in  the  last  number  of  the 
Harvard  University  Register.  The  list  is  constantly 
changing  through  natural  processer,  of  death  and  birth. 
Of  these  clubs  the  largest  and  best  known  are  the  In- 
stitute of  1770.  the  Delta  Upsilon.  l»i  Eta,  and  the  Hasty 
Pudding  Club. 

The  Institute  of  1770,  to  which  men  are  elected 
as  Sophomores,  is  in  close  though  informal  relation  with 


ii 


SOCIAL  CLUBS 


161 


■I 


the  Hasty  Pudding  Club,  since  almost  all  the  members 
of  the  latter  are  also  members  of  the  former.    It  is  the 
oldest  undergraduate  society  now  existing,  and  though 
it  is  now  inactive,  it  was  originally  a  literary  and  debat- 
ing society  and  at  one  time  had  a  very  good  library. 
The  Institute  hrs  a  club-house,  however,  where  it  main- 
tains a  table  for  its  members.    There  was  at  one  time  a 
rule  that  no  member  should   speak   in   Latin   without 
special  leave  from  the  President,  but  this  rule  is  no 
longer  enforced.    In  recent  years  the  Institute  has  been 
chiefly  a  shell  for  an  inner  body  known  as  the  J.  K.  E. 
This  was  originally  a  chapter  of  the  national  fraternity 
of  the  J.  K.  E.,  but  it  was  expelled  a  number  of  years 
ago,  and  is  now  a  secret  society  with  initiations  which 
are  understood  to  be  elaborate.    They  include  a  "  run- 
ning "  of  the  candidates,  who  are  clothed  in  whatever 
fantastic  garb  and  are  required  to  do  whatever  foolish 
things  the  fertile  minds  of  the  members  of  the  society 
may  invent.     They  used  to  be  a  picturesque  sight  in 
the  intermission  between  football  games  in  the  autumn, 
and  occasionally  on  the  streets  of  Cambridge  or  Boston. 
The  Hasty  Pudding  Club  is  perhaps  the  most  char- 
acteristic and  famous  of  all  the  Harvard  soeieiies.     It 
was  founded  in  1795  to  "  cherish  the  feelings  of  friend- 
ship and  patriotism."     Among  its  first  members  were 
Horace  Binney  and  Dr.  J.  Collins  Warren.     Its  name 
came  from  the   supper  of  hasty  pudding,  which   was 
maintained  for  many  years,  though  now  it  appears  in  a 
form  adapted  to  the  pampered  tastes  of  the  present  day, 
as  fried  mush  with  maple  syrup.     Originally  it  was  a 
debating  and  literary  society,  with  a  public  perform- 
ance in  the  spring  at  which  an  oration  and  poem  were 
delivered.     About   1845,  the   custom  of   performing  a 
farce  originated.    This  gave  way  about  1880  to  a  musical 


I 


I  n 


162 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


\'  i  1 


I    I 


comedy  or  farce,  in  which  the  words  and  the  music  are 
botli  written  hy  members  and  the  production  is  elabo- 
rated with  tlirongs  of  Jiighly  trained  cliorus-singers.  This 
play  is  given  in  the  spring,  and  usually,  after  the  per- 
formance in  Cambridge,  it  is  presented  in  Boston  for 
the  benefit  of  the  sisters  and  mothers  of  the  members 
The  club-house  on  Ilolyoke  Street  consists  chiefly  of  the 
theater.  It  is  interesting  for  the  large  numbers  of  old 
shingles  "  or  illustrated  posters  of  dramatic  per- 
formances, with  the  names  of  many  men  of  distinguished 
careers  appearing  in  the  easts. 

The  Pi  Eta,  which  has  a  varying  number  of  members, 
usually  thirty  or  forty  from  each  class,  has  a  very  com- 
fortable house  on  Winthrop  Square.  Like  the  Hasty 
Pudding  Club,  it  has  a  theater  in  which  it  gives  per- 
formances each  year;  usually  a  musical  comedy,  of 
which  both  book  and  music  are  produced  by  some  of  the 
menibers,  and  there  is  a  plentiful  chance  for  dances  by 
the  brawny  chorus.  These  performances  also  are  usually 
repeated  in  Boston  and  two  or  three  neighboring  places 
for  the  benefit  of  the  friends  of  the  Club.  The  Pi  Eta 
was  founded  in  1860. 

The  Delta  Upsilon,  founded  in  1880,  has  a  house  on 
Harvard  Street.  Its  members  are  elected  largely  on  the 
basis  of  scholarship,  and  its  ambition  is  to  have  as  many 
of  the  leading  scholars  of  the  successive  classes  as  pos- 
sible. Its  principal  public  activity  is  in  the  revival  of 
old  plays,  which  it  performs  every  spring.  It  now  has 
a  record  of  having  revived  and  performed  more  old  Eng- 
lish plays  than  any  other  organization  in  the  world 

The  Signet,  which  was  founded  in  1870,  has  a  hand- 
some house  with  a  good  library,  on  the  corner  of 
Dunster  and  Mount  Auburn  streets.  It  has  strong  lit- 
erary- traditions,  which  are  maintained  by  the  regulation 


SOCIAL  CLUBS 


1G3 


that  a  certain  proportion  of  its  members  shall  be  drawn 
from  the  undergraduate  publications.  Its  initiations 
iire  lively,  and  at  any  rate  pseudo-literary,  oceasions,  in 
wliieh  members  of  the  Faculty  frcfiucntly  take  part. 
Its  annual  dinners  are  frequently  made  notal)le  by  poems 
and  after-dinner  speeches  from  graduates  of  distinc- 
tion. 

Another  type  of  dub,  which  on  the  whole  is  most  dis- 
tinctively characteristic  of  Harvard  life,  is  the  small 
club,  taking  in  fnmi  three  to  four  up  to  ten  or  fifteen 
meinbers  from  each  class.  Of  this  type  the  Porcellian, 
founded  in  1790,  is  the  oldt  st.  There  are  now  a  con- 
siderable number  of  such  clubs,  but  the  number  is  some- 
wliat  variable,  since  new  ones  are  formed  every  now  and 
then.  The  older  ones  have  comfortable  and  even  lux- 
urious houses,  and  most  of  them  maintain  tables  for 
tlieir  members.  Though  the  feeling  of  brotherhood  in 
these  clubs  is  very  close,  they  an'  not  secret  societies. 
They  approach  rather  the  type  of  the  club  in  England, 
or  in  the  older  cities  of  America,  in  that  election  to  them 
is  based  on  congeniality  and  good-fellowship  rather  than 
on  special  tastes,  literary  or  otherwise.  In  most  of  these 
small  clubs  the  graduates  keep  up  an  active  interest, 
and  go  frequently  to  the  graduate  dinners.  The  Uni- 
rcKsity  Register  has  fifteen  to  twenty  such  clubs  in  its 
list,  but  the  number  cannot  be  made  exact,  for  some  of 
them  run  off  into  the  larger  societies,  like  the  Hasty 
Pudding  Club  and  the  Pi  Eta. 

The  Greek  letter  fraternities  have  taken  little  hold 
cit  Harvard,  though  the  names  of  .several  appear  in  the 
Ingistcr.  The  general  spirit  of  the  place  is  against 
them.  Any  large  college  is  of  necessity  chiefly  interested 
in  its  own  affairs,  and  the  sense  of  reverence  for  solemn 
soorots  which  seems  to  be  necessary  to  the  prosperity  of 


II 


164 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


a  Creek  letter  society  has  never  llonrislied  at  Harvard. 
In  times  past  certain  of  tlie  leading  fraternities,  such  as 
tlie  Alpha  Delta  Phi.  the  Delta  Kappa  Cpsilon,  and  the 
Zeta  Psi,  have  established  chapters  at  Harvard.  Each 
of  these  three  lias  either  expelled  the  Harvard  Chapter 
or  has  withdrawn  the  charter  by  amicable  arrangement 
There  are,  however,  a  few  Greek  letter  fraternities  which 
still  maintain  chapters  at  Harvard. 

The  rhi  13eta  Kappa  at  Harvard  is  (me  of  the  oldest 
chapters  in  the  country,   for  its  charter  was  granted 
in  1779,  three  years  after  the  founding  of  the  parent 
chapter  at  William  and  Mary  Collejre  in  Virginia.    The 
catalogue  of  the  chapter  has  a  long  list  of  distinguished 
names  among  the  members,  and  even  more  among  the 
orators  and  poets  at  the  annual  meetings.    Among  these 
orators  have  been  John  Quincy  Adams  in  1788,  Josiah 
Quincy    in    1794,    Edward    Everett    in    1824,    Ralph 
Waldo  Emer.son,  with  the  oration  on  "  The  American 
Scholar,"   in    1837,    Charles   Sumner   in    1846,    Henry 
Ward  Beecher  in  1855,  George  William  Curtis  in  1862 
Emerson  again  in  18G7,  AVendell  Phillips  in  1881    Carl 
Schurz  in  1882,  and  Charles  PVancis  Adams  in  1883, 
with  the  oration  on  "  A  College  Fetich,"  which  stirred 
the  country  to  discussing  the  value  of  the  classics  in 
education.     Other  orators  in  the  last  thirty  vears  have 
been  President  Eliot,  Senator  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  John 
Fiske,  James   (Viscount)   Bryee,  Horace  Howard  Fur- 
ne.ss,  Woodrow  Wilson,  Charles  E.  Hughes,  and  Josiah 
Royee.     The  poets  have  been  hardly  less  distinguished 
Among  them   were  Henry  Wadsworth   Longfellow  in 
1833,  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  in  1834,  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes  in  1836,  Bret  Harte  in  1871,  and  in  recent  years 
Richard  Watson  Gilder,  Geor-e  Sautayana,  Dean  Briggs 
Percy  MacKaye,  and  Henry  Van  Dyke. 


DORMITORIES 


165 


Election  to  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  is  on  the  basis  of 
scholarship,  although  other  evidences  of  ability  are  taken 
into  account.  The  first  eight  men  are  elected  before  tho 
iniddie  of  the  Junior  year,  and  they  are  usually  the  first 
tight  scholars  of  the  class  on  the  work  down  to  that 
period.  The  other  twenty-two  are  elected  in  the  Senior 
year,  and  in  choosing  them  the  society  holds  itself 
sotnewhat  less  bound  to  the  rank  list ;  so  that  there  are 
always  a  few  men  elected,  proof  of  whose  ability  comes 
in  part  from  outside  the  classroom.  The  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  now  has  some  social  life  of  its  ow^n.  The  mem- 
bers dine  together  every  week  in  a  tower-room  at 
Memorial  Hall ;  and  they  have  an  informal  baseball  nine 
and  some  other  activities. 

The  dormitories,  in  which  the  twenty-two  hundred  or 
more  undergraduates  are  quartered,  are  of  necessity  a 
good  deal  scattered.  The  two  chief  groups  of  them  are 
the  dormitories  in  the  Yard,  owned  by  the  College,  and 
the  dormitories  along  Massachusetts  Avenue  and  Mount 
Auburn  Street,  built  by  private  owners.  Besides  these, 
the  College  has  two  dormitories,  Perkins  and  Conant 
Hall,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  to  the  north,  on  Oxford 
Street,  and  Walter  Hastings  Hall,  about  the  same  dis- 
tance up  Massachusetts  Avenue.  Of  these  Conant  is 
now  regularly  assigned  to  graduate  students,  and  Per- 
kins and  Walter  Hastings  halls  are  largely  occupied  by 
graduate  students  and  law  students. 

The  oldest  of  the  College  dormitories  is  Hollis  Hall, 
which  was  built  in  1763,  and  named  after  the  Hollis 
family,  so  many  of  whom  were  benefactors  of  the  Col- 
lege. Stoughton,  the  next  building  to  it  on  the  north, 
was  built  in  1805,  and  Ilolworthy,  the  adjoining  build- 
ing at  the  north  end  of  the  yard,  in  1812.  After  the 
building  of  these  hails,  a  long  period  elapsed ;  for  Grays 


.ry  f 


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HARVARD  COLLEGE 


Hall,  at  tho  south  «>ntl  of  the  Yard,  which  was  erected 
hy  the  Corporation  as  an  inv.'stment.  and  named  after 
a  family  of  notahl.'  hcn.factors,  was  not  finished  until 
18G;J.  Thayor  IIa!l.  Kiv..n  hy  Nathaniel  Thayer,  wag 
Inult  in  ISOJ);  Wrkl  Hall,  given  by  William  F.  Weld 
and  Matthews  Hall,  givn  by  Nathan  Matthews,  in  1871.' 
The  latter  group  of  buildings  unfortunately  came  at  the 
saddest  [.eriod  of  Americ^an  architrcture.  The  older 
buildings,  Ilollis,  Stoughton,  and  Ilolworthv,  on  the 
other  hand,  an-  exc-llont  examples  of  the  fine  proper- 
tions  which  dignified  even  plain  and  simple  buildings 
m  America  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  begin- 
ning  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Up  to  about  twenty-five  years  ago  the  rooms  in  the 
Yard  were  much  sought  after  by  undergraduates.  About 
that  time,  however,  the  development  of  plumbing  in 
America  altered  college  life.    What  had  been  a  luxury, 
within  five  or  ten  years  became  a  necessity.    Enterpris- 
ing builders,  recognizing  this  fact,  put  up  a  number  of 
private   dormitories.      Be.-k   Hall,    built    in   1882,   was 
followed  eight  or  ten  years  after  by  Claverly  Hall,  Apley 
Court.  Westmorly.  Randolph  Hall,  Dunster  Hall ;  they 
are    built    with    something    like    luxury,    though    the 
rooms   are   often   small.     Three   of   them   have   swim- 
ming tanks  in  the  basement,  and  in  all  each  room  has  its 
private  bathroom.    Dunster  is  built  with  a  great  interior 
court,   with  handsome   stone  galleries.     Most   of  these 
dormitories  are  situated  on  Mount  Auburn  Street  and 
its  iieighborl,<,od  to  the  south  of  the  Yard,  and  consti- 
tute what   has  become  known   as  the  "  Gold   Coast  " 
Besides  these  there  are  other  private  dormitories  more 
or  l,>ss  scattered  about  Cambridge.     Among  these  are 
Craigie  Hall,  some  distance  up  l\Iount  Auburn  Street; 
Dana  Chambers;  Drayton  Hall  near  the  Yard;  Little's 


'A 


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DORMITORIES 


107 


Block,  Fairfax  Hall,  and  Ilainpdfn  Hall  on  Massachu- 
setts Avenue  opposite  the  Yard;  Ku.is.ll  Hall  on  Mount 
Auburn  Street,  and  Ware  Hall,  some  distanco  down 
Harvard  Street  towards  Boston.  The  demand  for 
private  dormitories  is  at  present  somewhat  more  than 
supplied. 

The  drift  away  from  the  Yard  twenty  years  ago  was 
accelerated  by  the  fond  btli.-l'  uf  the  {'or[)onitioii  that 
the  taste  of  young  men   for  rouf^iiinK  it   would   mnkc 
them  like  to  live  in  buildings  in  wliith  the  pluml)iiig 
was  half  a  generation  behind  the  standard  of  t-omforl 
among  people  of  very  modt-ratf  means.    Sinee  plumbing 
is  very  expensive,  and  it  is  an  ancient  and  honorable 
principle  of  the  Corporation  that  everj'  possible  cent 
of  the  income  of  the  College  shall  bo  used  for  purposes 
of  instruction,  the  Corporation  was  very  slow  to  install 
modern   plumbing,   and  when  they   began,   they  spent 
money  grudgingly  and  ineffectively.     Accordingly,  the 
private   dormitories   which   offered   comfort   and   some 
luxury  easily  drew  the  well-to-do  away  from  thii  Yard. 
Just  about  the  same  time,  the  College,  as  has  been  ex- 
plained above,  begau  to  outgrow  its  small  college  social 
system;  and  as  a  result  there  was  a  serious  cleavage 
between  the  men  who  lived  in  the  Yard  and  the  men 
in  the  private  dormitories;  and  in  a  few  classes  this 
cleavage  developed  parties  in  the  class  elections.     This 
evil  is  now  being  counteracted  by  the  successful  move- 
ment in  t^e  last  few  years  to  bring  the  Senior  class  to- 
gether for  th^rr  final  year  in  rooms  in  the  Yard.    In  the 
immediate  future  the  Freshman  dormitories,  which  are 
now  nearly  completed,  along  the  river  near  the  Weld 
boathouse,  will  mix  the  Freshmen  together,  and  so  any 
possible  separation  by  dormitories  can  exist  only  in  the 
Sophomore  and  Junior  years. 


168 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


4 


i'  >■■ 


ii; 


ii.  I 


In  genoral,  at  Harvard,  as  in  any  considerable  com- 
munity of  healthy  Amcrioan  youth,  wealth  counts  for 
very  little  and  antiquity  of  family  for  even  less.  There 
are  always  men  coming  from  families  of  great  wealth 
or  from  families  distinguished  in  society  who  make  no 
impression  either  on  the  college  life  in  general  or  on 
the  club  life.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  in  every 
class  imv  who  are  working  their  way  through  college 
or  who  come  from  remote  places  and  wholly  undistin- 
guished parentage,  who  make  themselves  leaders  in  the 
college  life  and  are  elected  to  what  the  newspapers  call 
"  Harvard's  most  exclusive  clubs."  Naturally,  as 
President  illiot  pointed  out  in  his  book  on  University 
Administration,  the  small  social  clubs  generally  illus- 
trate the  principle  that  "  birds  of  a  feather  flock  to- 
gether,"—a  principle  which  obtains  in  all  human  as 
well  as  bud  society  and  which  democracy  cannot  eradi- 
cate and  need  not  wish  to. 

The  birds  of  a  feather  who  thus  flock  together  at 
Harvard  have  usually  been  so  flocking  at  certain  select 
boarding  or  private  schools.  The  Institute  of  1770,  for 
example,  in  a  recent  year  drew  forty-five  per  cent  of 
its  membership  from  five  boarding  schools,  and  another 
twenty-eight  per  cent  from  four  private  schools  in 
Boston.  Such  close  associations  would  be  pernicious 
if  they  were  strictly  closed,  and  if  the  affiliations 
dependent  upon  them  were  the  only  affiliations  of 
undergraduate  life. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  athletics  opens  the  door  of 
such  societies  to  many  a  fellow  who  comes  to  college 
without  friends,  and  the  many  other  interests  and  nat- 
ural forms  of  association  in  a  place  where  the  social 
life  is  as  active  as  at  Harvard  make  many  kinds  of 
feathers  by  which  birds  may  flock  together.     The  life 


i  rr 


THE  EMPLOYMENT  OFFICE 


169 


of  a  large  college  of  necessity  appcoaches  the  life  of  a 
city,  and  all  through  the  classes  little  groups  of  men 
form  themselves  into  societies  and  clubs  which  give  them 
the  greatest  comfort  and  satisfaction.  In  many  cases 
(juitc  informal  associations  of  this  sort  crystallize  into  a 
society  and  find  a  permanent  history,  but  many  of  them 
pass  with  the  men  who  form  them.  No  man,  however, 
need  be  lonely  at  Harvard.  If  he  is  so,  it  is  because  he 
is  shy  or  lacks  the  other  qualities  which  make  for  easy 
and  agreeable  intercourse  among  men. 

A  notable  phenomenon  in  the  life  of  Harvard  College 
iu  recent  years  is  the  great  increase  in  the  number  of 
men  who  are  earning  money  towards  their  own  support. 
It  has  recently  been  estimated,  on  the  basis  of  the  appli- 
cations for  work  at  the  Employment  Office  and  the  re- 
turns of  places  filled  made  to  that  office,  that  one  half 
to  two  thirds  of  the  students  in  Harvard  College  are 
working  for  themselves.  The  number  of  men  who  wholly 
support  themselves  is  small,  for  a  man  must  not  only 
be  a  very  hard  worker,  but  must  have  unusual  ability 
and  strength,  to  be  able  to  do  this  and  to  keep  up  with 
his  college  work.  On  the  other  hand,  a  large  part  of 
the  greatly  increased  number  of  young  men  in  America 
who  go  to  college  has  been  drawn  from  families  of  small 
means,  and  the  large  colleges  are  getting  just  as  many 
of  them  as  the  small  colleges.  Most  of  these  men  who 
are  working  for  themselves  are  of  excellent  quality: 
they  have  energy,  ambition,  and  capacity,  or  they  could 
not  keep  their  places  in  so  severe  a  contest. 

To  help  these  men  the  College  maintains  an  Employ- 
ment Office,  the  secretary  of  which  is  a  permanent  ad- 
ministrative officer.  It  is  his  business  to  talk  with  all 
applicants  for  work,  to  estimate  their  capacity,  and  to 
assign  them  to  the  various  jobs  which  come  to  his  notice. 


s  i  t 


I  ■■ 
•if  ^ 

1 


!\    I 


i!    ? 


170 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


To  find  work  for  them  he  canvasses,  so  far  as  he  has 
time,  the  various  opportunities  for  part-time  employ- 
ment in  Cambridge  and  Boston.  The  Kinds  of  employ, 
ment  are  greatly  varied.  In  the  report  of  the  Secretary 
for  Employment  in  1910,  sixty-eight  different  kinds  of 
temporary  work  are  listed,  among  them  the  following: 
agent,  camp  counsellor,  carpenter,  chauffeur,  choreman, 
conductor,  draughtsman,  foreman,  genealogist,  hotel 
employee,  meter-reader,  play-ground  director,  scene- 
shifter,  snow-shoveler,  tutor,  typewriter,  and  waiter.  In 
all  about  two  thousand  and  three  hundred  temporary 
positions  were  filled  through  the  office  in  that  year. 
There  are  also  always  many  other  men  who  find  work 
for  themselves  and  do  not  appear  on  the  records  of  the 
Employment  Office. 

The  social  position  of  these  men  is  in  no  way  affected 
by  the  work  which  they  are  doing  to  support  them- 
selves. Men  who  are  earning  money  are  to  be  found  in 
all  parts  of  the  classes  and  in  all  the  clubs  and  societies; 
and  men  who  are  in  the  clubs  speak  with  pride  of  fellow 
members  who  are  working  their  way.  Earning  money 
by  students  is  now  so  common  at  Harvard  College  as 
to  be  almost  commonplace;  so  far  as  it  excites  comment 
at  all,  the  comment  is  favorable. 


<  ii 


ill  I 


\V    I   i 


Of  recent  years,  as  has  been  said,  the  undergraduates 
have  been  giving  much  effort  towards  increasing  the  sol- 
idarity of  undergraduate  life.  The  classes  have  class 
smokers  and  other  meetings  at  the  Union,  which  are 
organized  as  soon  as  there  are  any  class  officers  in  the 
Freshman  yoar.  The  Senior  advisers  start  work  by 
getting  Freshmen  together  in  clubs  and  making  them 
acquainted  with  one  another.  Each  year  there  are  more 
activities  m  the  way  of  athletics  or  journalism,  philan- 


las 
yy- 

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CLASS  ORGANIZATION 


171 


the  members  of 


thropic  work  or  societies,  which  bring 
the  class  together. 

The   class   organizations   have   resisted   what   it   was 
prophesied  would  be  the  dissolving  effect  of  tiie  elective 
system,  and  the  classes  hold  strongly  together  both  in 
college  and  afterwards.     Each  class  during  the   four 
years  of  its  stay  in  college  elects  officers  annually;  and 
by  a  custom  established  in  the  late  nineties  the  officers 
are  changed  each  year,  in  order  that  as  many  men  as 
possible  may  be  given  a  chance  and  may  be  tried  out 
by  the  class.     The  final  judgment  of  the  class  on  its 
leading  men  comes  with  the  elections   in   the   Senior 
year  of  officers  for  Class  Day.    By  ancient  custom,  the 
officers  consist  of  three  marshals,  a  secretary,  an  orator, 
ivy  orator,  poet,  odist,  and  chorister,  a  class  committee,' 
a  class-day  committee,  and  a  photograph  committee.    In 
recent  years  a  treasurer  has  been  added.    Of  these  offi- 
cers the  class  committee  and  the  secretary,  and  in  re- 
cent years  the  three  marshals,  are  permanent  officers  of 
the  class  whose  functions  continue   after  graduation. 
The  secretary  is  a  highly  important  person  to  the  class: 
if  he  be  energetic  and  interested,  he  can  do  much  to 
keep  his  class  together;  but  now  that  the  classes  number 
SIX  or  seven  hundred,  the  position  is  getting  to  be  a 
good  deal  of  a  burden.    This  burden  is  somewhat  light- 
ened by  turning  over  the  publication  of  the  class  reports 
to  the  office  of  the  Alumni  Association. 

The  great  climax  of  student  life  comes  with  Class 
Day.  For  many  years  it  fell  on  the  Friday  before  Com- 
mencement, which  was  the  last  Wednesdav  in  June 
Now  Commencement  Week  has  been  rearranged,  and 
Class  Day  comes  on  Tuesday,  and  Commencement  on 
Thursday  of  the  next  to  the  last  week  of  June.  Monday 
is  devoted  to  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  meeting,  and  Wedn-vs- 


"li 


'■I' 


172 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


f 


f  i 


111  ^ 


!    I   I 


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I!'  k 


t   >!    5 


day  is  a  day  of  reunions  of  the  classes  and  also  of  the 
Yale  baseball  game. 

Class  Day  has  long  been  a  notable  festival.  The 
Yard  is  handsomely  decorated  with  flags,  rows  of  Japa- 
nese lanterns  are  strung  between  the  trees  in  both  quad- 
rangles, and  elaborate  preparations  are  made  for  what 
is  really  the  Senior's  farewell  to  his  college  life. 

The  exercises  of  the  day  begin  with  a  short  service  in 
Appleton  Chapel,  and  then  at  eleven  o'clock  the  class 
marches  in  cap  and  gown  to  Sanders  Theatre.    There  the 
galleries  are  filled  with  mothers  and  sisters  and  friends. 
The  Orator  delivers  his  oration,  the  Poet  reads  his  poem 
and  the  Odist  his  ode.    Then  the  class  and  their  guests 
disperse  to  various  "  spreads."    Of  these  the  principal 
ones  in  the  middle  of  the  day  are  that  given  by  the  Pi 
Eta  Society  in  the  Gymnasium  and  that  of  the  Hasty 
Pudding  Club  in  its  own  building  on  Holyoke  Street. 
In  the  afternoon  the  Yard  is  closed  to  all  but  ticket- 
holders,  and  a  host,  which  seems  to  include  all  the  pret- 
tiest girls  in  the  country,  begins  to  gather  soon  after 
two  o'clock.    All  through  the  day  there  are  bands  play- 
ing in  various  parts  of  the  Yard.    At  three  o'clock  the 
Seniors  assemble  in  front  of  Holworthy  and  then  march 
around  the  Yard,  cheering  the  buildings  as  they  go, 
and  over  the  river  to  the  Stadium.    In  this  march  they 
are  preceded  by  the  graduates  and  undergraduates  mar- 
shalled by  their  classes.    Across  the  river  the  bowl  of 
the  Stadium  is  filled  with  guests  and  .spectators.    The 
graduates  and  the  three  undergraduate  classes  sit  on 
the  grass  at  the  foot  of  the  seats,  ready  to  receive  the 
Seniors. 

Facing  the  bowl  of  the  Stadium  is  erected  the  front  of 
a  Greek  temple  which  was  built  some  years  ago  for  the 
performance  of  a  Greek  play.     This  makes  an  admi- 


CLASS  DAY 


173 


rable  sounding-board ;  and  in  front  of  it  the  Ivy  Orator 
delivers  an  oration  which  is  expected  to  be  full  of  satire 
and  wit.  Then  the  class  cheers  everybody,  including 
the  President  of  the  University,  the  ladies,  and  the 
graduates,  and  the  graduates  respond;  and  when  the 
cheering  is  all  over,  the  guests  shower  the  class  and  the 
graduates  and  each  other  with  confetti  and  throw  fine 
paper  ribbons  which  make  a  multicolored  cobweb  over 
the  whole  face  of  the  Stadium. 

Then  the  crowds  throng  back  to  the  Yard  and  scatter 
among  the  numerous  ' '  spreads  " ;  for  there  are  far 
more  of  these  in  the  evening  than  in  the  middle  of  the 
day.  The  principal  feasts  are  one  behind  Wadsworth 
House,  one  at  the  Signet  Society  on  Dunster  Street,  one 
in  the  Phillips  Brooks  House,  and  one  at  Beck  Hall. 
Besides  these,  however,  there  are  many  smaller  ones, 
running  down  to  little  entertainments  by  single  men  in 
their  rooms  for  their  own  immediate  families.  The 
Union  is  open  for  a  spread  with  dancing  during  the 
evening.  In  1912  there  were  sixteen  spreads  of  societies 
or  groups  of  men,  important  enough  to  be  announced 
in  the  Crimson,  but  there  were  also  many  other  smaller 
ones. 

The  Yard  in  the  evening,  if  Ihe  weather  is  at  all  fine, 
is  very  beautiful.  The  strings  of  Japanese  lanterns  give 
the  most  enchanting  sort  of  light,  and  the  innumerable 
gay  dresses  brighten  up  the  semi-darkness.  The  bands 
play  by  turn  in  various  parts  of  the  Yard,  and  the  Glee 
Club  sings.  The  evening  is  by  ancient  and  recognized 
custom  a  time  of  flirtation,  and  the  couples  move  in  and 
out  and  form  and  reform  at  the  various  spreads,  through 
tlie  evening. 

The  gathering  is  cosmopolitan,  for  the  Ui^versity 
attracts  its  students  from  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 


174 


HARVARD  COLLEGE 


men ;  but  with  the  care  that  is  now  taken  to  keep  out  ail 
wlio  have  not  leceived  tickets  from  Seniors,  the  day 
invariably  passes  off  in  a  seemly  and  delightful  manner. 
Indeed,  it  could  hardly  be  otherwise  when  there  is  the 
combination  of  June  weather  and  young  men  and 
maidens  in  the  full  flower  of  youth. 


I'  < 


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THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOLS 


Historical  Origin.  The  Graduate  School  of  Arta  and  Sciences. 
The  Medical  School.  The  Law  School.  The  Divinity  School.  The 
Graduate  Schools  of  Applied  Science.  The  Graduate  School  of 
Business  Administration.  Radcliffe  College.  University  Exten- 
sion. 

Harvard  College  is  only  one  department  of  Harvard 
University,  and  though  it  is  in  a  very  real  sense  the  heart 
of  the  University,  nevertheless  the  graduate  depart- 
ments in  many  ways  make  more  impression  on  the  coun- 
try at  large  than  does  the  College;  for  to  the  various 
graduate  schools  throng  men  from  other  colleges  all 
over  the  United  States. 

The  work  in  the  graduate  schools  falls  into  two  classes, 
though  the  boundaries  between  them  are  Jiot  always 
dearly  defined.  On  the  one  hand,  there  is  graduate 
study  in  arts  and  sciences  not  specifically  directed 
towards  practical  professional  purposes;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  there  are  the  professional  schools,  which  are 
preparing  men  directly  for  earning  their  livelihood  in 
a  profession.  In  the  former  class  falls  most  of  the  work 
of  the  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  though, 
like  all  such  schools,  this  tends  to  become  a  professional 
school  for  teachers,  especially  for  teachers  in  colleges. 
In  the  other  class  falls  the  work  of  the  Medical  School, 
the  Dental  School,  the  Law  School,  the  Divinity  School, 
the  Schools  of  Applied  Science,  and  the  School  of  Busi- 
ness Administration.    In  all  of  these  schools,  however, 

176 


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176 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOLS 


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much  research  work  is  done;  and  in  the  Bussey  Insti- 
tution,  where  instruction  and  rosearch  in  Economic 
Entomology,  Animal  Heredity,  and  Experimental  Plant 
Morphology  are  carried  on,  the  professional  purpose  is 
no  more  definite  than  in  the  Graduate  School  of  Arts 
and  Sciences.  Much  of  the  work  in  the  scientific  estab- 
hshments  of  the  University,  which  are  considered  in 
the  next  chapter,  is  intermingled  with  the  graduate 
instruction. 

On  the  other  side,  the  relations  between  the  various 
graduate  schools  and  Harvard  College,  both  historically 
and  in  the  conduct  of  their  work  to-day,  are  very  close 
Practically  all  of  them  have  grown  out  of  instruction 
first  given  in  Harvard  College.  For  most  of  them  neces- 
sary  preparatory  courses  are  given  in  Harvard  College, 
and  several  professors  give  undergraduate  instruction  as 
well.  In  an  institution  which  is  the  result  of  steady 
growth  it  is  not  possible  to  pull  the  whole  apart,  and 
there  are  many  cases  in  which  the  efficiency  of  one  de- 
partment is  increased  by  joint  undertakings  with  an- 
other. In  this  way,  though  the  departments  of  the 
University  are  now  scattered  geographically,  yet  new 
lines  of  intercourse  are  constantly  arising  to  bind  to- 
gether the  work  that  they  are  doing. 

Historically,  what  we  call  to-day  graduate  work  in 
the  arts  and  sciences,  and  also  preparation  for  the  minis- 
try,  have  been  carried  on  since  the  founding  of  the 
College.  Separate  professional  study  began  with  the 
foundation  of  the  Medical  School  in  1783;  but  profes- 
sional study  was  not  distinctively  graduate  study  until 
well  along  in  the  administration  of  President  Eliot. 

In  this  chapter  consideration  is  given  first  to  the 
Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  then  to  the  pro- 
fessional  schools  in  the  order  of  their  foundation. 


"f 


HISTORICAL  ORIGIN 


177 


From  the  very  beginning  of  the  College  the  early 
records  show  that  there  have  always  been  some  graduate 
students  resident  at  the  College.  Of  the  Class  of  1642, 
the  first  class  to  be  graduated,  four  out  of  nine  members 
later  received  the  A.M.  from  the  College,  and  in  the 
"  Laws,  Liberties  and  Orders  of  Harvard  College,"  of 
1642,  Article  19  provides: — 

Every  scholar,  that  giveth  up  in  'vriting  a  synopsis 
or  summary  of  Logic,  Natural  and  Moral  Philosophy, 
Arithmetic,  Geometry  and  Astronomy,  and  is  ready  to 
defend  his  theses  or  positions,  withal  skilled  in  the 
originals  as  aforesaid,  and  still  continues  honest  and 
studious,  at  any  public  act  after  trial  he  shall  be  capable 
of  the  second  degree,  of  Master  of  Arts.* 

The  effective  organization  of  graduate  study  in  the 
arts,  howe  Jid  not  come  about  until  after  1870.  "We 
have  seen  i  t  both  the  original  plan  of  the  Lawrence 
Scientific  School  and  the  University  Le  s  of  Presi- 
dent Hill's  administration  were  aimed  in  ti.  ction. 
Neither  fulfilled  the  purpose  satisfactorily,  and  grad- 
uate study  was  not  really  inaugurated  at  Harvard  until 
the  institution  of  the  Graduate  Department  in  1872. 
This  department,  after  eighteen  years'  trial,  became  in 
1890  the  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences. 

This  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences  is  in- 
separably articulated  with  the  College.  The  courses  in 
which  graduate  students  work  are  open  to  undergradu- 
ates who  are  able  to  keep  up  with  them,  and  each  year 
a  considerable  number  of  men  who  have  completed  their 
work  for  the  bachelor's  degree  in  Harvard  College  con- 
tinue in  the  Graduate  School,  and,  except  for  the  mat- 
ter of  registration  and  freedom  from  rules  of  attendance, 

'  Quincy,  History  of  Harvard  University,  vol.  i,  p.  517. 


178 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOLS 


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they  recognize  hardly  any  difference  in  their  standing. 
It  is  only  the  most  advanced  courses  which  consist 
wholly  of  graduates,  and  even  in  these  there  will  be  oc- 
casionally an  undergraduate  who  is  exceptionally  far  on 
with  his  subject. 

At  the  same  time,  the  Graduate  School  brings  to  Cam- 
bridge  great  numbers  of  graduates  from  many  other 
institutions.    In  the  year  1912-13  it  had  students  from 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  different  colleges  and  uni- 
versitiis.    These  graduate  students,  who  are  as  a  whole 
the  pick  of  their  colleges,  bring  with  them  strong  intel- 
lectual interests  and  great  diversity  of  point  of  view. 
The  mingling  of  such  men  with  each  other  in  the  higher 
courses  is  one  of  the  chief  advantages  of  a    university, 
and  the  fact  that  they  are  as  a  body  so  mu      amalga- 
mated with  the  undergraduates  is  of  especial  advantage 
to  the  latter.    Very  frequently  these  graduate  students, 
especially  those  who  come  from  the  smaller  colleges, 
acquire  a  strong  feeling  of  loyalty  to  their  second  Alma 
Mater.     Even  in  matters  athletic,  though  they  are  not 
allowed  to  play  on  university  teams,  they  frequently 
feel  themselves  Harvard  men. 

The  work  in  the  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences 
leads  to  the  degrees  of  Master  of  Arts,  Master  of  Science, 
Doctor  of  Philosophy,  and  Doctor  of  Science.  The 
program  of  study  for  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts 
"  must  form  a  consistent  plan  of  work  pursued  with 
some  definite  aim."  For  graduates  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege or  of  colleges  of  approximately  the  same  standards, 
one  year  of  residence  is  usually  sufficient  to  earn  this 
degree.  Until  within  a  few  years  it  was  the  practice 
to  allow  men  from  other  colleges  who  wished  for  a  Har- 
vard degree  to  register  as  undergraduates  and  take  the 
A.B.  m  one  or  two  years.    Now,  under  a  change  of 


SCHOOL  OP  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES        HO 

rules,  such  men  are  expected  to  register  in  tin-  Graduate 
School  and  study  for  the  A.M.  At  Harvard,  as  else- 
where, this  degree  tends  to  become  a  teacher's  degree, 
tspecially  for  teachers  in  secondary  schools.  As  the 
standard  of  these  schools  improves,  the  better  ones  ex- 
pect their  teachers  to  have  some  training  more  ad- 
vanced than  that  of  the  College.  The  number  of  mas- 
ter's degrees  conferred  at  Harvard  is  considerable;  of 
late  years  it  has  ranged  between  125  and  150. 

The  requirements  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philoso- 
phy or  Doctor  of  Science  at  Harvard  do  not  differ 
greatly  from  those  at  other  leading  American  universi- 
ties. They  include  at  least  two  years'  graduate  study, 
one  of  which  must  be  spent  at  Harvard,  and  a  thesis 
presenting  the  results  of  an  independent  piece  of  re- 
search in  an  unexplored  field.  In  practice  three  years 
or  more  are  usually  required  to  earn  this  degree,  after 
the  bachelor's  degree.  The  first  two  years  the  student 
usually  gives  to  advanced  courses,  covering  the  whole 
fu'ld  which  he  has  chosen  for  his  work.  In  some  of 
these  courses  he  is  always  sure  to  become  engaged  in 
research  which  leads  on  to  a  subject  for  his  doctor's 
thesis.  The  preparation  of  the  thesis  occupies  usually  a 
year,  and  not  infrequently  more  than  a  year,  of  hard 
and  concentrated  work  in  the  library  or  in  a  laboratory, 
and  the  thesis  must  be  approved  as  advancing  knowl- 
edge. Besides  the  thesis,  the  candidate  must  pass  rigor- 
ous examinations,  usually  comprising  general  examina- 
tions on  the  whole  subject  in  which  the  degree  is  taken, 
and  a  special  test  on  the  special  field  of  study  which  he 
has  chosen  for  his  own.  The  training  for  those  ex- 
aminations is  severe  and  exhausting.  At  present  the 
tendency  at  Harvard  is  to  raise  the  standard  for  the 
Ph.D.  to  a  level  somewhat  higher  than  that  of  the  Ger- 


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180 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOLS 


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man  universities,  and  in  some  departments  there  is  a 
tendency  to  approach  the  standards  of  the  degree  of 
Docteur  es  Lettres  in  France.  Not  infrequently  candi- 
dates come  up  for  their  examination  grievously  over- 
worked ;  but  when  the  President  of  the  University  calls 
for  the  candidates  for  the  Ph.D.  on  Commencement 
Day  and  welcomes  them  with  the  phrase,  "  Men  of 
learning,  I  gladly  admit  you  to  the  great  and  universal 
fraternity  of  scholars,"  one  feels  that  the  reward  is 
sufficient  for  the  labor. 

There  are  a  considerable  number  of  scholarships  and 
fellowships  attached  to  the  Graduate  School  of  Arts 
and  Sciences.  In  1911-12  there  were  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six  in  all.  Of  these,  thirty-seven  were  fellow- 
ships, with  yearly  incomes  ranging  from  $400  to  $1150; 
and  eighty-nine  were  scholarships,  with  incomes  rang- 
lug  from  $150  to  $450.  The  fellowships  differ  from  the 
scholarships,  not  only  in  the  amount  of  stipend,  but  in 
the  increased  distinction  which  they  carry,  and  they 
are  rarely  assigned  except  to  men  who  have  already 
shown  high  promise  in  the  work  for  the  doctor's  degree. 
John  Harvard  Fellowships  are  assigned  to  students  of 
distinction  who  do  not  need  a  stipend. 

Of  the  endowed  fellowships  there  are  twelve  which 
can  be  used  for  travel ;  but  besides  these  a  considerable 
proportion  of  the  income  of  the  Frederick  Sheldon  Fund 
for  traveling  fellowships  is  usually  assigned  to  students 
in  the  Graduate  School.  Thus  it  is  possible  each  year 
for  a  considerable  number  of  men  to  go  abroad  to  com- 
plete their  studies,  either  under  distinguished  scholars, 
or  in  libraries  or  laboratories,  or  in  some  special  field. 
This  year  of  research  is  of  high  value  in  perpetuating 
interest  in  scholarship. 

The  Graduate  School  is  notably  cosmopolitan  in  tone. 


SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES        181 

College  lines  are  broken  down,  and  the  fellowships  and 
.scholarships  go  quite  as  frequently  to  men  whose  first 
degree  has  been  taken  elsewhere  as  to  Harvard  men. 
There  is  a  strong  feeling  of  fraternity  in  the  School, 
which  was  strengthened  when  a  few  years  ago  the  Cor- 
{toration  assigned  Conant  Hall  to  its  students,  and  fitted 
up  a  common  room  in  this  building  for  their  use.  Here 
are  held  the  meetings  of  the  Graduate  Club,  to  which 
all  members  of  the  School  are  eligible,  and  of  the  va- 
rious learned  societies,  like  the  Classical  Club,  the  Mod- 
ern Language  Conference,  and  others  in  which  Faculty 
and  graduate  students  join.  The  situation  of  these  so- 
cieties varies  with  the  departments.  In  some  cases  they 
are  officially  under  the  direction  of  the  department ;  in 
others  professors  are  honorary  members.  But  almost 
every  department  in  the  School  has  its  own  society  in 
which  papers,  usually  of  a  technical  nature,  are  read 
and  discussed. 

At  the  same  time,  many  { raduate  students  come  to 
Cambridge,  as  much  for  the  wklening  of  their  horizons 
and  for  the  opportunity  to  hear  good  music  and  to  sec 
j,'ood  plays  as  for  the  sake  of  the  study.  For  many  grad- 
uates of  smaller  colleges,  who  look  forward  to  spending 
their  lives  in  teaching  in  small  colleges  or  small  towns, 
these  opportunities  of  cultivation  are  of  inestimable 
value.  The  students  of  the  Graduate  School  show  an 
eager  desire  to  make  the  best  of  all  the  opportunities 
which  are  offered  them. 

Students  in  the  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  return  to  all  parts  of  the  country,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  them  to  teach,  especially  in  colleges.  In  these 
days  the  more  capable  and  ambitious  men  stay  long 
•  nough  to  take  the  Ph.D.,  which  is  coming  in  many  col- 
leges to  be  required,  almost  unroasoningly,  of  all   in- 


v. 


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\:V 


182 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOLS 


structors.  The  men  who  have  won  this  degree  at  Har- 
vard, as  at  tlie  other  prineipal  universities  of  the  coun- 
try, arc  picked  men,  often  of  high  cultivation  and 
ability,  and  they  are  rapidly  raising  the  standard  of 
scholarship  in  the  colleges  throughout  the  countr>'. 
Such  men  flock  to  the  meetings  of  the  various  learned 
societies  in  the  Christmas  holidays,  there  to  meet  each 
other  and  to  talk  the  shop  of  their  subject  and  exchange 
the  gossip  of  their  calling. 


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if 

The  history  of  medicine  shows  a  faint  glimmer  in  the 
very  earliest  days  of  th     College,   for  it  is  recorded 
that  in  1647  Giles  Firmin  lectured  there  on  anatomy. 
On  the  27th  of  October  of  the  same  year,  there  is  a 
vote  of  the  General  Court  that  "it  is  conceived  to  be 
very  necessary  that  such  as  study  physic  or  ehirurgery 
should  be  at  liberty  to  anatomize  once  in  four  years 
some  malefactor  in  case  there  be  such."     IMore  than  a 
hundred  years  later,  after  the  burning  of  Harvard  Hall 
in  1764,  the  Boston  Posiboy  and  Adrcrtiscr  of  the  30th 
of  January,  notes  that  among  the  losses  by  that  fire 
was  "  a  collection  of  the  most  approved  medical  au- 
thors .    .    .  also    anrtomical    cuts    and    two    complete 
skeletons  of  different  sexes.     The  collection  would  have 
been   very   serviceable   to   a  Professor   of  Physic   and 
Anatomy  when  the  revenues  of  the  College  should  have 
been  sufficient  to  subsist  a  gentleman  in  thi.s  character." 
In  1770  Ezekiel  Hersey   (A.B.  172S)   bequeathed  £100 
for  a  professorship  of  anatomy  and  surgery,  and  the 
next  year  a  number  of  undergraduates,  among  whom 
was  John   Warren    (A.B.    1771),   the   real   founder  of 
the  Harvard  Medical  School,  organized  the  "  Anatomical 
Society,  for  dissection  of  animals  and  studying  tiie  bones 
of  the  human  skeleton."    Very  clearly,  the  interest  in 


k 


THE  MEDICAL  SCHOOL 


183 


medical  study  was  rapidly  focusing.  Then  came  the 
Kevolutionary  War,  which  like  all  wars  was  a  great 
stimulus  to  sui-^ical  study,  and  by  1782  the  Corporation 
had  organized  a  plan  of  systematic  medical  instruction. 

This  development  of  medical  education  was  not  un- 
like that  elsewhere  in  the  country  before  the  Revolution. 
At  that  period  medical  practitioners  were  trained  ac- 
cording to  the  English  custom,  by  reading  medicine  in 
the  otfice  of  an  established  medical  man,  helping  him  in 
minor  operations,  and  compounding  drugs.  ^Yhen  they 
held  themselves  prepared  to  set  up  for  themselves,  they 
usually  assumed  the  title  of  doctor,  whether  or  not  they 
had  received  the  degree  of  M.D.  This  was  practically  an 
apprentice  system.  A  few  of  the  more  ambitious  went 
iibroad  to  study,  chiefly  in  Edinburgh,  though  to  some 
( xtent  in  England,  and  this  system  lasted  well  on  towards 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Medical  study  seems  on  the  whole  to  have  been  more 
active  south  of  New  England.  Between  1758  and  178S 
it  is  recorded  that  sixty-three  Americans  graduated  in 
!iio(licine  at  Edinburgh,  of  whom  only  one  was  from 
New  England.'  The  Pennsylvania  Hospital  was  founded 
in  1751  and  the  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia,  now 
the  Medical  School  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  1765. 

The  Rcvolntionary  War  gave  a  great  impetus  to  the 
study  of  medicine  in  Boston.  Dr.  Joseph  Warren  (A.B. 
1759),  who  was  killed  at  Bunker  Hill,  was  a  physician 
of  brilliant  promise.  His  younger  brother  John,  who 
had  studied  with  him,  had  some  opportunity  during 
the  war  for  dissection,  and  in  1780  gave  a  course  on 
anatomical  demonstrations  to  medical  men  at  the  Mili- 

'  T.  F.  Harrington,  Harvard  Medical  School,  vol.  i. 


r 


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184 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOLS 


i  i  \ 


tary  Hospital  in  Hoston.'     In  1780  was  organized  the 
Boston  Mt'dieal  Society,  and  from  this  sprang  Dr.  John 
Warren's  proposal  to  the  President  and  Fellows  of  a 
systematic  scheme  of  instruction  in  medicine  under  the 
auspices  of  the  College.     The  adoption  by  the  Corpora- 
tion of  a  report  recommending  such  instruction,  S<ptem- 
ber  If),  1782,  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  formal  tounda- 
tiou  of  the  .Aledical  School.     The  vote  provided  for  the 
appointment  of  professors  of  anatomy  and  surgery,  of 
the    theory    and   practice    of   physic,    and   of    materia 
medica  and  chemistry,  and  for  the  setting  up  of  a  com- 
plete anatomical  and  chemical  apparatus,  and  the  erec- 
tion of  a  proper  theater  for  dissections  and  chemical 
operations       is  soon  as  there  shall  be  sufficient  benefac- 
tions for  tliose  purposes  ";  and  it  provided  also  for  a 
certificate  under  the  seal  of  the  University  to  be  given  to 
students  who  were  qualified  to  practice.     In  November, 
Dr.    John    Warren    was    elected    Ilersey    Professor   of 
Anatomy    and    Surgery,    in    December    Dr.    Benjamin 
Watcrhousc  became  Ilersey  Professor  of  the  Theory  and 
Practice  of  Medicine,  and  the  next  year  Dr.  Aaron  Dex- 
ter (A.]}.  177(5)  was  elected  Erving  Professor  of  Cliem- 
istry  and  Materia  Medica.     On   October  7,   1783,   Dr. 
Warren  and  Dr.   VVaterhouse  were  inducted  into  their 
professorships  with  much  ceremony  in  the  Old  Meet- 
ing House. 

The  .school  thus  organized  was  essentially  like  those 
which  had  already  been  instituted  in  Philadelphia  and 
New  York.  They  were  what  is  known  as  proprietary 
schools,  since  the  fees  received  from  the  students  went 
to  the  professors,  and  the  professors  made  all  nomina- 
tions and  managed  the  school.  At  Harvard  a  close  con- 
nection was  maintained  with  the  College  through  the 
'  Harrington,  ubt  sup.,  vol.  i,  p.  1. 


THE  MEDICAL  SCHOOL 


185 


ciitlowed  professorships,  the  earliest  of  which  were  es- 
tablished in  Harvard  CoUege.  Indeed,  the  Medical 
i'^aculty  was  not  formally  organized  until  well  into  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  the  Erving  Professorship,  origi- 
nally of  chemistry  and  materia  nicdica,  is  now  a  profes- 
sorship of  chemistry  in  the  College.  Tlu;  system  spread 
tliroughout  the  country  and  produced  many  schools 
which,  being  run  wholly  for  the  profit  of  their  owners, 
caused  grave  scandal.  But  at  Harvard,  as  in  all  the 
best  schools,  the  idea  of  profit  had  no  part  in  the  man- 
ajxcment,  and  the  professors  frequently  put  back  into 
the  school  more  than  they  received  from  f'^cs. 

Thus  organized  in  1782,  the  "  Medical  Institution  " 
of  the  University  grew  at  first  rather  through  the  ability 
of  its  professors  than  through  independent  organization. 
At  first,  Dr.  John  Warren,  who  was  a  notaljle  lecturer, 
gave  a  course  of  demonstrations  in  anatomy  in  Ilolden 
Chapel,  which  was  attended  by  the  whole  Senior  cla.ss 
of  the  College;  but  it  very  soon  became  impracticable 
for  him,  with  his  large  practice  in  Boston,  to  get  out  to 
Cambridge  by  the  meager  communications  then  open. 

Through  the  remainder  of  the  eighti'cntli  century 
medical  students  attended  lectures  at  Cambridge  during 
short  terms  in  each  of  two  winters,  completing  in  Boston 
under  the  direct  instruction  of  some  doctor  the  study  in 
medicine  which  was  required  by  Harvard  for  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Medicine.  If  not  a  graduate  of  the  Col- 
lege, a  student  had  to  qualify  in  Latin  and  natural 
I)hilosophy.  The  fee  for  each  course  in  anatomy  and 
.'^urgery  was  $26.00,  which  went  to  the  professors.' 

Very  soon,   liowever,   it   was   found   impractii'able  to 
continue  carrying  on  the  Medical  Institution  of  the  Col- 
lege at  Cambridge  and  the  instruction  of  medical  stu- 
'  llarrui^ton,  iibi  sup.,  vol.  i,  p.  275. 


1  i^  I 


./    •> 


■  / 


186 


THE  (iKAUrATK  SCHOOLS 


m' 


i    I 


I'.      I 


dents  was  transfornd  to  Boston.  In  1810,  ulion  Dr. 
James  Jackson  (A.li.  179G)  was  elected  Horsey  Pro- 
fessor of  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Physic,  there  were 
four  professors  teaching  in  the  almshouse  on  Lcverett 
Street  in  Boston.  In  1814.  through  the  help  of  the  ap- 
propriation of  a  bank  tax.  in  which  Bowdoin  and  Wil- 
liams Colleges  shared,  the  erection  of  the  "  Massachu- 
setts Medical  College,"  on  Mason  Street  in  Boston,  was 
made  possible ;  and  it  became  the  home  of  the  Harvard 
Medical  School  in  1816.  On  November  1,  1816,  the 
Medical  Faculty  was  first  regularly  organized. 

Side  by  side  with  the  Harvard  Medical  School,  and 
supplementing  its  instruction,  there  grew  up  certain 
private  medical  schools  under  the  charge  of  members  of 
the  Medical  Faculty.  At  this  time  the  regular  course 
in  medicine  consisted  only  of  four  months  of  lectures 
in  the  winter.  The  private  schools  gave  instruction  dur- 
ing the  rest  of  the  year,  and  they  gathered  the  -nost 
energetic  of  the  younger  doctors.  They  were  in  no  way 
rivals  of  the  School,  and  the  Tremont  School  later  was 
adopted  officially  as  the  summer  course  of  the  Harvard 
Medical  School.  Among  the  teachers  in  this  Tremont 
School  were  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  Henry  J.  Bigelow, 
D.  Humphreys  Storer,  Louis  Agassiz,  and  Jeffries  Wy- 
mau,  and  there  were  two  other  private  schools  manned 
by  younger  doctors  in  close  alliance  with  them. 

The  records  of  llie  Corporation  show  tJiat  for  many 
years  it  regarded  the  :\[edical  School  as  a  private  school, 
for  which  the  responsibility  lay  in  the  Faculty  The 
funds  of  tlie  few  professorships  were  held  by  the  Cor- 
poration, who  paid  the  income  to  the  incumbents;  but 
it  was  expected  that  this  income  would  be  supplemented 
by  the  fees  received  from  the  students.  At  the  same 
time  the  School  was  always  felt  to  be  an  integral  part  of 


■ 


THE  MEDICAL  SCHOOL 


187 


tlio  Uuivcrsity.  The  Boston  of  those  tlnys  was  small  and 
tlicre  was  little  diiTi-rentiation  of  intorusts.  The  officers 
of  the  Medical  School  were  practically  all  gra^luates  of 
the  College,  and  the  families  which  gave  their  time  and 
tlieir  money  to  the  development  of  the  School  were  al- 
most always  among  the  most  loyal  supporters  of  the 
College.  It  is  hard  to  realize  to-day  how  completely 
Harvard  College  was  a  part  of  the  Boston  of  the  days 
1)1  fore  the  war.  Thus  the  Medical  School  worked  out  its 
own  salvation  under  the  wing  of  the  University,  but  with 
entire  freedom. 

The  succession  of  men  of  great  ability,  originality,  and 
high  character  is  remarkable.  The  families  of  Warren, 
Homans,  Cheevcr,  Bigclow,  Shattuck,  Bowditch,  Jack- 
son, all  cover  long  periods  of  the  closest  connection  with 
the  Harvard  Medical  School ;  and  there  arc  other  fam- 
ilies whose  connection  with  it,  beginning  a  little  later, 
promises  to  be  as  long  and  as  beneficent. 

The  first  interest  of  the  school  was  a  response  to  the 
keen  zeal  of  Dr.  John  Warren  for  the  development  of 
surgery  and  anatomy.  With  the  appointment  of  Dr. 
Jacob  Bigelow  (A.B.  1806)  to  the  Lectureship  of 
^lateria  Medica  and  Botany,  a  now  interest  developed 
and  a  great  advance  was  made  in  the  use  of  medicine 
and  drugs.  He  had  studied  in  France  and  came  back 
with  the  theory  of  the  self-limitation  of  disease  and  the 
consequent  comparative  uselessness  of  drugs.  He,  and 
Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  working  with  liim,  carried 
tliis  doctrine  to  the  extreme,  expressed  by  Dr.  Holmes's 
saying:  "  If  all  the  medicines  and  drugs  in  the  world 
except  opium  and  alcohol  could  be  thrown  into  the  sea, 
it  would  be  a  great  deal  better  for  mank.nd  but  worse 
for  the  fishes."  Parallel  to  *his  development  went  the 
advance  of  clinical  study  under  Dr.  James  Jackson,  a 


ir 


188 


TlIK  GKADl'ATE  SCHOOLS 


V      I 


hi'  ' 

!     1 


I',    t      • 


i,    ) 


grcJit  ^'incral  pnictitionor,  wlio  wjis  Ilersey  Professor  of 
till"  Tlu-ory  and  IVactice  of  I'liysic  from  1812  to  1836 
AiK.tli.r  stajr."  in  Ihf  advanco  of  snrgt-ry  came  with  Dr 
Joliu   C.    Warnii    (A.U.   17!)7).   the  son   of   Dr.   John 
\\;uT('n.  who  su.n-occK.,1  liis  fathor  in  the  Professorship 
ot  Anatomy  and  Surgery  in  1815  and  with  Dr.  Henry 
J.  JJiir.'h.w   (A.li.  18;{7),  wlio  was  elected  Professor  of 
Sur-.iy  iM  IS4!):  Dr.  Warren  greatly  advanced  the  study 
ot  anatomy,  and  Dr.  Hi-oiow.  who  was  a  brilliant  op- 
erator, carried  still  further  the  advance  of  surgery.     In 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  establishment 
of  a  chair  in  Morbid  Anatomy  by  Dr.  George  Cheync 
8hattuck  and  the  appointment  to  it  of  Dr.  J.  B.  S. 
Jackson  {AM.  1825),  and  the  succession  of  Dr   George 
C.  Shattuek   (AM.  mu),  and  Dr.  Henry  I.  Bowditch 
(A.B.   ]8:iS).  in  turn,  to  the  Professorship  of  Clinical 
Medicine   (named  the  Jackson  Professorship  in  1858) 
carried  still  further  the  study  of  clinical  medicine.     In 
18-17,  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes 
to  the  Pr(.^"..ssorsliip  of   Anatomy  and  Physiologj-  and 
his  interest   ..  microscopic  work  opened  the  way  for  the 
study  of  histilogy.     The  laboratories  of  physiology  and 
chemistry  also  rapidly  advanced,  especially  when  physi- 
ology was  established   as  a  separate  subject,  and  put 
under  the  charge  of  Dr.  Henry  P.  Bowditch  (A.B.  1861), 
who  had  spent  three  years  in  study  abroad. 

With  the  increase  in  the  number  of  subjects  which 
needed  exi)ensive  laboratories  the  day  of  proprietary 
schools  of  medicine  ,)assed  by.  A  school  which  should 
give  adeciuate  instruction  in  medical  science  could  be 
supported  only  by  great  endowments  coming  from 
private  or  public  benefactions.  There  was  a  general 
movement,  therefore,  on  the  part  of  the  better  proprie- 
tary schools  to  attach  themselves  to  universities,  and  the 


THE  MKDICAL  SriIOOL 


18!) 


number  of  university  mtdical  sdiools  ^rroatly  iucTfast'd. 
At  Harvard,  tlic  result  (tl'  this  devrlopiueiit  was  a  closer 
aftiliation  with  the  liiiver.sity,  and  (hirin<,'  President 
Kliot's  adniinistratiuu  tlie  Medieal  Sehoo)  eanie  wliully 
under  the  control  of  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Har- 
vard College. 

The  Medical  School  has  had  in  its  history  four  sue- 
ct'ssive  buildings  or  sets  of  buildings,  not  counting  the 
earlier  instruction  in  medicine  given  first  in  1782  in  tiie 
hasement  of  Harvard  Hall  at  ("amhridge  and  the  next 
year  in  Holdcn  Chapel,  or  the  temporary  (|uarters  on 
Washington  Street  in  Boston.  The  fir.st  building  es- 
pecially constructed  for  the  School  was  built  in  1816 
out  of  the  proceeds  of  a  grant  by  the  Commonwealth  of 
enc  third  of  the  bank  tax  for  ten  years.  It  stood  on 
-Mason  Street  in  Boston,  aiul  was  named  the  .Massachu- 
setts Medical  College,  in  recogintion  of  the  grant  from 
the  state.  In  1S47  the  School  had  outgrown  this  l)uild- 
ing,  and  a  new  one  was  built  on  .\(U-tli  Crove  Street,  near 
the  Massachusetts  General  Hosi)ital,  the  great  center  of 
medical  research  in  Boston  at  the  time.  Within  less 
than  forty  years  this  building  too  was  outgrown,  and 
money  was  raised  for  a  plot  of  land  and  a  large  build- 
ing on  the  corner  of  Boyl.ston  and  Exeter  streets,  which 
was  "  expected  to  be  the  home  of  r.Iedicino  for  genera- 
tions." 

The  advance  of  medical  science  upset  all  calculations, 
however,  and  within  less  than  twenty  years  the  cn^ation 
01  new  departments  and  the  need  of  new  laboratories 
had  outgrown  the  capacities  of  this  building.  Accord- 
ingly, about  the  turn  of  the  century,  the  Faculty  of  thu 
School  and  the  Corporation  began  to  talk  of  another 
new  medical  scliool  on  a  scale  heretofore  uuthought  of. 
Some  generous  friends  of  the  University  quietly  bought 


1^ 


li 


ili' 


fi 


190 


I        ! 


TIIK  ({RADCATf.:  SCIFOOhs 


I       I 
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I:  >  I 


a  tract  of  twenty-six  a.rcs  of  land  at  tl.o  has..  „f  I'ark.-r 

H.ll  u.  Hoxl.urv  and  l,d.l  it  until  it  .s|,..ul.nH.  , d.d 

""     !''■  <_orporation  .san.-tion.d  th.  la.MM-l,i„K  of  the 
groat    '  Mnh..al  S..hnol  l'nd..r,al<inf,."    Prof-ssor  II..,' 
P.  Bomlit.-h  and  ProlVssor  J.  C.   Warn-n  uvn-  at  the 
head  of  a  eo„m,ittn.  which  worlc-d  out  th.  .^onoral  linos 
of  a  j^roup  of  hu.ldinffs  which  should  ho  larjrc  onouL'h 
to  house  tho  many  dcpartn.cnts  of  a  nio.lcrn  n.odi'al 
school,  and   .n   addition  should   provide  space   for  the 
estahhslnnent  of  hospitals  of  various  sorts  in  doso  con 
.guity  to  the  School.     Then  thoy  set  to  work  to  raise 
the  ton  nnlhon  dollars  ncccssarv-  for  the  lan.l,  buil.lings 
and  endowment.  """^s, 

The  enterprise  met  with  pratifying  success.     Mr    J 
Pierpont  Morgan  offered  at  on-e  to  jrive  the  administra-' 
tion  budding  and  the  two  buildings  flanking  it.     Mr 
John  D.  Rockefeller,  who  was  alrea.Iy  interested  in  the 
advance  of  med.eal  science,  sent  one  of  his  counsel  to 

Tot  Vr^\  ""■^^^■^'^^•"»  "^"  ^''^^  ^vork  and  the  pros- 
pects of  he  School.  The  report  was  favorable,  and  Mr 
Rockefeller  offered  to  give  a  n.illion  dollars  fo  he 
endowment  of  the  enterprise,  provided  that  the  balanc 
necessary  for  the  buildings,  about  three  quarters  oTa 
imlhon  dollars,  should  be  procured  from  other  sources 
In  a  short  time  the  money  was  raised.  Mr.  David  Sears 
(A.B.  18/4)  gave  the  building  of  Hygiene  and  Phar- 
macology m  memory  of  his  father,  David  Sears  (A  B 

tlfnrn  T"  ";'"^'"^^«"  ^f  ><'^^«'  York  gave  the  build- 
ing for  Bacteriology  and  Pathology;  and  two  new  pro- 
fessorships were  established,  the  George  Iligginson  Pro- 
ossorsnp  o  Physiology  and  the  James  Stillman  Pro- 
fessorsh.p  of  Comparative  Anatomy.  The  money  thus 
given,    with   other  .subscriptions,  exceeded  the   amount 


arkcr 

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THE  MEDICAL  SCHOOL 


191 


sfipulatcd  by  Mr.  KockcfclliT,  and  tlic  success  of  the 
t,'ivat  uiidcrtukiiif^  was  assured.  Land  was  broken  in 
September,  I'HJ.'J,  and  the  buUdiiifrs  were  finished  in  190G. 

The  architects  were  Messrs.  Shepley,  Kutan.  and  Cuo- 
lid;.'e,  and  the  great  court  enclosed  by  the  five  buildings 
is  one  of  the  finest  pieces  of  American  architecture.  The 
walls  of  the  laboratories  on  the  court  have  jut  sulTicient 
openings  to  break  the  surface,  and  they  have  been  ar- 
ranged with  great  skill.  Mr.  Morgan  indicated  his  pref- 
( rcnce  for  marble  as  the  material  and  paid  for  the  extra 
expense  involved  in  its  use.  The  simple  lines  of  the 
group  carry  the  eye  up  to  the  facade  of  the  Admiuistra- 
ti<jn  building,  with  its  noI)le  terrace  and  its  five  great 
cniumns.  In  the  summer,  when  the  green  of  the  grass 
s(  ts  off  the  .soft  white  nmrble,  this  court  gives  one  an  idea 
of  the  best  traditions  of  Greek  architecture. 

The  arrangements  and  interior  plan  of  the  buildings 
are  calculated  to  provide  the  maximum  of  utility  and 
lonvcnience.  Each  one,  with  the  exception  of  the  Ad- 
ministration building,  is  in  the  form  of  two  wings  con- 
nected by  a  central  .section,  so  that  there  is  the  greatest 
possible  amount  of  light  in  the  laboratories.  The  wings 
of  eadi  building  can  be  extended  in  the  future  as  more 
s|)aee  is  necessary.  An  ingenious  scheme  of  "  unit 
rooms  "  was  devised,  by  which  the  space  in  each  build- 
iiijr  can  be  fitted  to  the  needs  of  the  men  working  in  it. 
and  can  be  rearranged,  if  necessary,  at  comparatively 
sliulit  exi)ense.  The  unit  consists  of  a  room  for  research 
twenty-three  feet  ileep  and  ten  feet  wide,  with  a  win- 
dow. The  partitions  are  of  terra  cotta.  and  two  or  more 
of  these  rooms  can  easily  be  combined  by  taking  out  the 
l>;irtifion.  In  this  way  rooms  of  all  sizes,  from  those 
litltd  for  a  single  worker  up  to  moderate-sized  lab- 
oratories or  cla^    looms,  can  be  made  on  each  floor  of 


If 


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TIIH  (iHADlTATE  SCHOOLS 


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» 

f 

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I 

t  ■: 

1, 

■ 

1 

cix-h  win-  In  the  cutral  section  of  .-afh  buildiuc^ 
wln.h  connects  tlic  wings  Js  a  la.-,'  amphitheater,  whicli 
IS  tiiiis  easy  of  access  to  the  students  ami  instnotors  who 
are  workinp  in  either  win-.  In  the  cent'.ii  section,  too, 
are  kept  the  hooks  and  journals  which  a  »•  most  closely 
related  to  the  work  heing  done  in  that  hi;   -li-t/. 

Tlie  AdMii!:istration  building,  at  the  beau  oi'thc  court 
has  on  the  lower  floor  a  handsome  Faculty  room  and 
convenient  oflicts  for  the  Dean  and  the  administrative 
stall.  On  the  left  of  the  entrance  is  a  large  lecture-room 
In  the  basement,  which  is  wJl  above  ground,  are  reading 
and  coat-rooms  for  the  students.  The  entire  upper  por- 
tK,n  of  the  building  is  occupied  by  the  Warren  Anatomi- 
cal  Museum,  which  contains  a  most  valuable  collection 
fur  teaching   begun  by  Dr.  John  Warren  in  1799. 

Close  by  the  Medical  School  buildings  is  the  new 
buddnig  of  the  D.ntal  School,  the  Faculty  of  which 
IS  organized  a^  part  of  the  general  Medical  Faculty 
This  buildmg,  which  was  completed  in  1909.  was  made 
possi])le  by  th<.  undaunted  belief  of  President  Eliot  that 
d.'iital  science  is  a  matter  of  so  great  importance  to  the 
hap{)in.-ss  of  mankind  that  it  should  have  every  advan- 
tage for  scientific  study.  Tnder  his  encouragement  the 
loyalty  and  self-devotion  of  the  alumni  have  carried  the 
iJa.v,  and  partly  through  the  generosity  of  friends,  even 
niorc  by  the  sdf-saerificing  generosity  of  the  graduates 
<'t  the  school,  ,t  was  po.ssible  to  erect  a  commodious 
building. 

It  ha.s  laboratories  equipped  with  the  latest  and  most 
approved  apparatus,  and  a  large  infirmary  where  free 
patients  ar.  tn-ated  under  tl.e  direction  of  the  instruc- 
tors in  the  school.  There  is  also  a  department  for  oral 
surger>'.  with  two  operating  rooms,  each  of  which  has  its 
room  for  anaesthesia ;  and  there  is  a  small  ward  for  tem- 


THE  .AIEDICAL  SCHOOL  ]0;j 

porarj'  treatment  of  the  cas.'s.  Tliere  is  also  a  room  for 
X-ray  work  ami  a  museum  enntainiug  over  ;J.jUO  speei- 
)i,etis.  The  Dental  School  buildin-,'  is  used  wholly  for 
clinical  work;  as  the  lectures  and  the  general  laboratory 
instruction  are  given  in  the  buildings  of  the  Medical 
Si'hool. 

The  equipment  of  the  Harvard  .Medical  School,  how- 
I  vcr,  is  far  from  being  completed  within  its  own  l)ui!d- 
ings.  It  has  now,  what  every  great  medical  school  must 
have,  close  connections  with  a  large  number  of  hospitals. 

First  to   be   menti(me(l   is  the   Peter  Bt^nt   Brigharii 
Hospital,  built  on  land  bought  in  1900  for  the  use  of  the 
Mi'dical  School.    This  is  a  great  general  hospital,  with 
fourteen  separate  buildings  and  room  for  two  hundred 
and  forty  medical  and  surgical  cases.    Its  relations  with 
the  School  are  close,  for  the  trustees  have  entered  into 
iin  agreement  with  the  Corporation  of  the  University, 
under  which  the  Corporation  will  nominate  the  medical 
and  surgical  officers  of  the  hospital.     It  is  thus  possible 
to  elect  men  to  professorships  and  at  tlie  same  time  to 
« iisure  them  positions  in  a  great  working  hospital.     Be- 
sides this,  the  Corporation  has  recently  concluded  an 
arrangement  with  the  trustees  of  the  Massachusetts  Gen- 
eral Hospital,  by  wiiich  the  house  officers  of  the  latter 
^vill  also  be  appointed  in  consultation  with  the  Corpora- 
tion.    Thus  another  great  hospital,  with  three  hundred 
nnd  twenty  beds,  is  made  an  integral  part  of  the  organi- 
zation by  which  the  Medical  School  will  carry  on  the 
^var  against  suffering  and  disease.     Besides  these  two 
great  general  hospitals,  there  are  others  also  in  close  asso- 
ciation with  the  school.    On  part  of  the  land  in  Roxbury 
have  been  built  the  Collis  P.  Huntington  Memorial  Hos- 
pital for  cancer  cases,  the  Infants'  Hospital,  and  the 
Children's  Hospital.    The  Huntington  Memorial  IIos- 


n  ! 


rc  j 


194 


THE  (iRADlATE  SCHOOLS 


1 ,    t 


]'  I 


II  ^ 


pital  is  a  very  complete  buildiiifr  v.  ,tli  twenty-four  l)cd.s, 
and  all  the  aeconipanyintr  laboratories  and  facilities 
for  study.  It  will  he  conducted  under  tlio  direction 
of  the  Cancer  Commission  of  Harvard  University.  The 
Infants'  Hospital  acconunodates  fifty  babies,  and  of- 
fers facilities  for  the  study  of  the  many  problems  of 
the  first  months  of  a  baby's  growth.  The  Children's 
Hospital,  a  nuich  larger  institution,  has  beds  for  one 
hundred  and  fifty  patients.  It  will  afford  medical,  sur- 
gical, and  orth(<pedic  service  for  children  beyond  tho 
age  of  infancy.  Also  on  the  land  bought  for  the  School 
there  is  the  Carnegie  Nutrition  Laboratory,  maintained 
by  the  Carnegie  Institute  of  Washington,  which  has  a 
vcrj-  remarkable  equipment  for  the  investigation  of 
various  problems  of  nutrition,  with  apparatus  by  which 
all  the  products  of  the  combustion  of  food  for  tho  body, 
whether  in  health  or  in  disease,  can  bo  accurately 
measured  and  studied.  Close  by  is  the  House  of  the 
Good  Samaritan,  a  hospital  for  women  suffering  from. 
various  chronic  maladies.  All  these  buildings  obtain 
their  power,  heat,  and  light  from  a  ceniral  power-plant 
belonging  to  the  .Medical  School,  which  provides  them 
also  with  power  for  ventilation,  refrigeration,  ard  elec- 
tricity. 

Besides  these  buildings,  which  are  on  land  purchased 
for  the  Medical  School  T'ndtTtaking,  there  are  several 
other  important  institutions  near  at  hand  in  which  the 
School  has  active  interest.  About  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
away  is  tho  new  State  Psychopathic  Hospital  for  the 
observation  and  treatment  of  eases  of  mental  disease  in 
tho  early  stages.  Here  are  brought  all  persons  whose 
mental  state  makes  it  desirable  to  have  them  under 
observation  before  committing  them  to  the  state  asy- 
lums, and  here,  too,  it  is  arrang'-d  that  selected  types 


THE  mp:dical  school 


195 


of  iiH'utul  (list'asc  iM.'iy  be  brought  from  the  various 
>t:itc  insane  hospitals  for  special  study.  About  a  mile 
away  is  the  Free  Hospital  for  Women,  devoted  to  sur- 
^'iral  eases,  with  sixty-seven  beds.  In  another  direction, 
at  about  the  same  distance,  is  the  Baptist  Hospital, 
anil  the  site  f(jr  the  future  Robert  l}ri<,'ham  Hospital 
tor  chronic  oases,  and  tiiere  are  a  few  other  smaller 
iii-titutions.  Farther  away,  but  in  close  relations  with 
tlie  Merlical  School,  is  the  Boston  City  Hospital,  with 
its  many  cases  of  accidents  and  many  operations.  There 
arc  also  the  Boston  Lyiiifj-in  Hospital,  which  has  more 
than  eight  hundred  ,  atients  a  year,  and  the  Boston  Dis- 
])ensary,  to  which  over  one  hundred  thousand  visit.s  are 
made  durin^?  the  year.  The  McLean  Hospital  for  the 
Insane  at  Wavcrlcy.  a  department  of  the  Massachusetts 
(e  neral  Hospital,  with  over  four  hundred  patients  in  a 
vfar,  is  well  equipped  with  pathological,  chemical,  and 
Iisychological  laboratories.  The  Long  Island  Hospital, 
in  Boston  Harbor,  has  throe  hundred  and  twenty-five 
beds  designed  particularly  for  the  treatment  of  chronic 
«ases.  At  the  Carney  Hospital  over  three  thousand 
I)atients  are  treated  durin.g  the  year,  and  it  maintains, 
iicsides,  a  very  large  out-patient  department. 

The  School  is  thus  surrounded  with  hosintals  of  the 
innst  varied  sort;  so  that  the  opportunities  for  the 
study  of  diseases  are  unsurpassed.  Besides  these  re- 
sources, the  neighborhood  of  the  Busscy  Institution 
affords  opportunities  for  study  in  comparative  patho- 
logy and  in  the  part  played  by  insects  in  the  carrying 
of  disease.  Investigators  in  tin  IMedical  School  are 
also  able  to  call  on  the  physical  laboratory  and  the 
cinmical  laboratories  in  Cambridge  for  advice  and  aid 
in  investigations.  With  the  increasing  ditrerentiation 
of  science  and  the  establishment  of  new  lines  of  in- 


hi  * 


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TIIK  fiRADl'ATE  SCHOOLS 


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lUiry  involviiij,'  nii.re  than  one  field  tliereof,  these  pos- 
sil)ilities  of  eoi'.reration  are  likely  to  increase  in  impor- 
tance. 

The  rejxular  work  for  the  degree  of  M.D.  in  the  Har- 
vard  Medical  School  calls  for  four  years  of  liard  and 
often  almost   unbroken  study.     I'nder   a   recent   rear- 
rangenirnt   of   the   work,   in   the   first   two  years  the 
students  concentrate  their  time  almost  wholly  on  the 
laboratory   subjects.     The   first   half  of  the  first  year 
they  devote  to  anatomy  and  histology,  the  second  half 
to   physiology  and   biological  chemistiy,   and   the  first 
half  of  the  second  year  they  give  wholly  to  pathology 
and  bacteriology ;  in  the  second  half  of  the  second  year 
there  is  somewhat  greater  variety.     At  the  end  of  the 
second  year  there  is  a  general  examination  on  all  the 
work  of  tJiese  first  two  years  of  laboratory  study.     In 
the  last  two  years  of  the  course  students  enter  directly 
on  clinical  study.     The  work  of  the  fourth  year  is  elec- 
tive.    At  the  end  of  that  year  there  is  another  general 
examination,  principally  on  the  work  of  the  last  two 
years. 

All  through  the  work  of  the  School,  but  particularly 
in  the  latter  portion  of  it  and  during  the  summer, 
students  spend  much  time  in  the  various  hospitals  and 
dispensaries  di>scrib.tl  above.  The  amount  of  instruc- 
tion by  pure  lectures  has  been  steadily  reduced,  and 
the  amount  of  time  spent  in  laboratories  or  hospitals 
increased.  In  recent  years  successful  experiments 
have  been  m.ide  in  borrowing  the  case-system  of  the 
Law  School  for  instruction  in  medicine.  Rooks  are 
prepared  in  which  typical  cases  of  certain  diseases  are 
described  in  detail;  these  ciscs  are  discussed  in  the 
class-room  with  various  modifications  suggested  by  the 
professor,  and  the  students  must  reason  out  the  differ- 


w  I' 

i 


THE  MEDICAL  SCHOOL 


197 


I  net'  in  dinfrnosis  and  troatnunt  wliicli  would  result 
fmrii  such  niodiHcations.  Thus  th.-  uicdlcal  student, 
( vm  in  his  study  of  hooks,  f,'ots  tht"  hahit  of  ^'ivinj,'  his 
nttcntion  to  the  actual  facts  of  cases  and  reasoning  out 
tluir  significance. 

T!  '  tenilency  of  inedicino  to  develop  new  fields  is 
ilhistrated  hy  the  new  de^M-ee  of  Doctor  of  Puhlic 
Ihaith.  for  which  a  year's  study  after  the  regular 
riiidical  course  is  rciiuired.  There  is  also  provision  for 
the  attainment  of  the  degrees  of  .Master  of  Arts  and 
D.Mtor  of  l'hilosoi)hy  for  advanced  students  of  niedi- 
line  who  have  already  received  the  .M.D.  These  de- 
LHces  are  administered  by  a  Division  of  :\Iedicai 
Sciences  cstahlish<'d  in  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  with  joint  mend)ership  from  that  Faculty  and 
the  .Medical  F'aculty.  The  work  for  these  degrees  is 
ill  tlie  nature  of  advanced  research. 

iJcsides  these  opportunities  for  advanced  study  in 
Medicine,  the  Graduate  School  of  Medicine  was  or- 
uiiTiized  in  I'Jll  as  a  department  under  the  Faculty  of 
Medicine,  with  a  separate  Dean  and  Administrative 
il'.ard.  The  purpose  of  this  Graduate  School  of  Jledi- 
liiie  is  chiefly  to  afford  opiiortunities  of  sjiecial  study 
to  doctors  who  are  already  in  practice.  It  offers  courses 
ef  lectures  and  clinical  visits  covering  a  month  or  more, 
.'ind  shorter  courses  at  the  hospitals  on  special  subjects, 
which  are  intended  for  practition<'rs  who  can  get  to 
Hoston  only  once  or  twice  a  week.  Sjx'cial  courses  are 
also  arranged  from  time  to  time  in  jjarticular  lines  of 
work.  Besides  these,  then'  are  research  courses,  in 
which  opportunity  is  given  for  graduates  in  medicine 
l<i  carry  on  more  or  less  extensive  investigations.  The 
general  purpose  of  this  Graduate  S(  hool,  therefore,  is 
double.    On  the  one  hand,  it  will  enable  the  practitioner 


'■4   "■•'[ 

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198 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOLS 


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who  wislies  to  k.vp  up  with  the  advance  of  medicine  to 
do  so  under  favorable  eireumstanc.'s,  and  in  the  seoond 
place  it  provides  for  the  increasing  number  of  men 
who  are  following  medicine  as  a  pure  science. 

Tliere  is  a  large  and  increasing  amount  of  pure  re- 
search in  medical  subjects  now  earri.'d  on  at  the  School. 
The  laboratories  are  modern  and  well  equipped,   and 
many  subjects  are  oi)ening  out   new  fields.     There  is 
also  opportunitv  for  experiment  on  animals  under  care- 
fully guarded  conditions.     The  Harvard  Medical  School 
thus  promises  to  combine  the  two  great  modern  func- 
tions of  medical  study:  on  the  one  hand,  the  investi- 
gation which  is  constantly  advancing  the  .science,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  passing  on  of  the  information 
thus  gained  to  the  men  who  will  apply  it  directly  to 
the  amelioration  of  human  ills. 

The  Law  School,   now  one  or  the  strongest  depart- 
ments  of  the   Univei-sity,   like  most   of  the   other  de- 
partments, made  its  first  beginning  with  a  professorship 
m  Harvard  College.     In   1815  Isaac  Royall  left  a  be- 
quest   to   the    University    for   the   establishment    of   a 
professorship    of   law,    the    incumbent    of    which    was 
required  to  give  a  course  of  lectures  to  the  Seniors. 
For  two  years  the   professorship  was   filled  by   Isaac 
Parker  (A.B.  1786).  then  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Judicial  Court  of  .Mas.sachusetts.     In  1817.  at  his  sug- 
gestion, the  Corporation  and  Overseers  established  the 
HarA'ard   Law  School.     It   is,   therefore,  the  oldest  of 
the  extant  law  schools  of  the  countrj-.     With  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  School,  the  Corporation  elected  the 
Honorable    Asaliel    Stearns     (A.B.    1797),    Univer.sity 
Professor  of  Law.     In  1829,  the  staff  was  increased  by 
the  foundation  of  the  Dane  Professorship  of  Law,  to 


' 


THE  LAW  SCHOOL  199 

which  was  elected,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  foundor, 
Joseph  Story  (A.B.  1798),  lat^r  a  Justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States. 

The  School  was  first  housed  in  what  is  now  College 
House.    In  1820-30  it  had  thirty-two  students.    In  that 
year   Nathan   Dane    (A.B.   1778),   the   founder  of  the 
Dane  Professorship,  gave  a  new  building  to  the  Law 
School,   Dane  Hall,   which,  though  somewhat   modified 
in  exterior,  still  stands  close  to  its  original  position  on 
the  curve  of  Harvard  Square.     The  Seliool  increased 
slowly,  though  among  the  professors  were  men  of  the 
highest   distinction,   such   as   Joel   Parker,   later   Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Hampshire,  Emory 
Washburn,     later     Governor    of    Massachusetts,     and 
Nathaniel  Holmes   (A.B.  1837).  later  a  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Missouri.    The  system  of  instruction 
was  wholly  by  lectures,  for  legal  instruction,  like  medi- 
cal instruction,  in  the  early  years  followed  the  model 
of  the  English  system,  which  was  practically  an   ap- 
prenticeship.    Just  as  the  medical  student  read  medi- 
cine  and   helped   in   bandaging   and   in   compounding 
drugs  in  the  office  of  an  established  practitioner,  so  die 
student  of  law  read  law  in  text-books  in  some  lawj'cr's 
office  and  took  a  gradually  increasing  part  in  the  regular 
work  of  the  office,  drawing  up  papers,  preparing  cases 
for  trial,   and  finally  taking  part  in  the  arguments. 
The  instruction  in  the  Law  School  at  first  merely  took 
the  place  of  text-books.     The  students  listened  to  lec- 
tures by  distinguished  practitioners  and  made  notes  on 
them.    A  large  part  of  Judge  Story's  famous  treatises 
on  the  law  were  produc  d  as  lectures  in  the  Law  School. 
The  course  was  nominally  two  years,  but  there  is  said 
to  have  been  no  more  work  in  it  than  might  easily  have 
been  done  in  one.    There  were  no  examinations  either 


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4 

TJIK  (JUADCATK  SCHOOLS 


lor  ontranc-e  or  tor  ,'raduatio„.  an.l  i„  coinparison  with 
he  al,no.st  lu.rco  ca^.Tnoss  .f  prolVssiunal  «tudv  t.-da 
the  work  0  the  Law  School  then  v.ould  scorn  aniatourij/ 
Vith  the  appointment  of  Professor  Christopher 
Columbus  Lan^deil  (A.H.  ^.31)  to  the  Dane  Prifes' 
sors  up  and  to  the  deanship  of  the  Seliool.  in  1870  , 
i^'volut.on,  as  we  liave  seen,  was  wrouj,d,t  in  le-al  in 
struetjon.     President  Eliot,  in  his  a.ldress  on  the  Law- 

;;  ^u  "''  ''"'  ''""^''■'"'  ''"^'  ^^'ti'-'tl'  anniversary 
ot  the  Collep..  f,iv,s  an  aeeount  of  how  ho  eamo  to 
appoint  J  rofessor  Lan,nlell.  After  deseribin,.  how 
Gov-cTnor  Washburn,  who  was  th..n  Dean,  had  received 
lus  first  visit  to  the  Law  School  with  the  semi-humorous 
declaration  that  he  was  the  first  President  of  the  Uni 
versity  who  had  ever  entered  its  doors,  he  went  on  to 
say : — 

cr.^s'ortl'^l^"''/""^''''''':  ^^'"'''''  ^"^  «f  the  vet- 
shin  lu  "''^'  ^^^i^'°'''-  <>n'l  the  Dane  Professor- 
w  \  Tn'""  ''^'"''^u  ^^"'"  '  remend,erod  that  when  I 
ol  <.?,^^n  •;'  W^'T'  "•  ^'"  •^■'■'"-  l«^^^-5-^  and  used 
who  J-  .  ;  ^^V^''\''^^  ''■'■"'""  ^^  ^''^  room  of  a  friend 
«ho  uas  m  the  Divinity  School,  I  there  heard  a  voiin 

tracts       talk  about  law.     He  was  gen(     Uv  eatintr  his 
supp.-r  at  the  time,  standing  up  in  front  o  'the  fin^and 
cat.ng  with  good  appetite  a  bowl  of  brown  brea     and 
milk.     I  was  a  mere  boy.  only  eighteen  years  old  •  bu 
It  was  given  to  me  to  understand  that  I  was  Hsten  ne  to 
a  man  of  genius.     In  the  year  1870  I  recal  e     ?"  re 
inarkabU.    quality    of    that    young    man's    e.xpo   tons' 
sought  him  in  New  York,  and  induced  him  to  become 
Dare  Professor.    So  he  became  Professor  Langdell     He 
then  told  me.  ,n  1870.  a  great  many  of  the  tMngs  he 
has  told  you  this  afternoon:  I  have  heard  most  nf  hi« 
speech  before.     He  told  me  that  law   .^s  a  so  ence 
was  quate  prepared  to  believe  .t.    He  told  mcThat  the 


THE  LAW  SCHOOL 


201 


w.iy  to  study  a  science  was  to  j?..  to  tlic  orijjinal  sources 
i  kixw  tliat  was  true,  for  I  had  Ixvn  brouylit  up  in  the 
sncncc  of  chemistry  myself;  and  one  of  the  first  rules 
<it  a  conscientious  stuilcnt  of  science  is  never  to  take  a 
I.Kt  or  a  principle  out  of  second-liand  treatises,  hut  to 
-'*  to  the  original  memoir  of  the  discoverer  of  that  fact 
er  principle.  Out  of  these  two  fundamental  proposi- 
tions.—that  law  IS  a  science",  and  tliat  a  scien.-e  is  to  be 
stiidi.'d  in  its  sources,— there  gradual! v  prew,  first,  a 
nrw  method  of  teaching;  law;  and  secondly,  a  recon- 
struction of  the  curriculum  of  the  School. 

In  President  Eliot's  career  he  never  gave  a  better 
proof  of  his  prophetic  judgment  of  men.     The  study  of 
the  law  became  indeed  a  science;   Professor  Langdell 
invented  a  wholly  new  method  of  teaehiiig  law.     Listead 
"f  letting  his  students  learn  the  i)rineiples  from  text- 
iMioks,  he  sent  them  to  the  cases  on  which  the  principles 
were  based.     For  each  meeting  of  a  class  he  gave  the 
•students  five  or  six  ca.ses  from  the  sets  of  reports  in  the 
l.ibrary  to  prepare  themselves  on.  and  then  called  on 
wie  student  to  .state  the  facts  in  the  case,  and  on  an- 
other to  state  the  principles  involved  in  the  decision. 
Tlien  he  would  tlraw  the  whole  class  into  the  discussion 
l>y  seeking  their  opinion  of  the  decision,  by  modifying 
•  lie  facts  and  questioning  them  as  to  how  the  principle 
would  be  modified,  so  that  by  the  end  of  the  hour,  the 
students  would  have  seen  that  particular  principle  in 
nil  its  aspects  and  would  have  gone  to  its  foundation  in 
tlie  theory  of  the  common  law.     Thus  he  gave  to  his 
students  a  vivid  sense  of  the  law  as  a  continuous  and 
living  development,   and   he  taught   them   to  think   in 
terms  of  the  common  law,  rather  than  to  trust  to  prin- 
ciples committed  to  memor\'  from  a  text-book.    Of  this 
■system,  Sir  Frederick  Pollock,  Regius  I'rofcssor  of  Law 


.1 


4  1 


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202 


TllK  C;UADrATE  SCHOOLS 


in  Oxford  Tnivorsity,  dt-elurid :  "  I  do  feel  sure  it  is 
the  best  way,  if  not  the  only  way,  t<i  learn  law." 

In  188M  a  new  building  for  the  Law  School  was 
erected  frc.in  a  be<iuest  of  Edward  Austin,  from  plans 
drawn  by  IL  IL  Richardson  (A.B.  IS,')!)).  It  is  an 
excellent  example  of  the  Ronianesciue  style  introduced 
by  Richardson.  The  rounded  arches  at  the  entrance  are 
elaborately  carved,  and  there  is  a  fine  reading-room 
upstairs  with  a  noble  mantelpiece.  The  building  was 
planned  spaciously,  with  the  idea  that  it  would  con- 
tinue to  house  the  School  in  comfort  for  a  generation, 
or  perhaps  half  a  centurj- ;  but  the  success  of  the  School 
outran  the  prescience  of  its  Faculty,  and  within  less 
than  twenty  years  the  Iniilding  was  insufferably 
crowded.  In  1908  a  new  and  stately  building  was 
erected  on  Holmes  Field  just  behind  Austin  Hall,  out 
of  the  accumulated  funds  of  the  School,  for  the  Law 
School  is  the  only  department  of  the  University  which 
puts  away  a  surplus.  This  new  building  is  appro- 
priately named  Langdcll  Hall.  As  is  the  habit  at  Har- 
vard, the  architecture  of  the  new  building  has  no  re- 
lation to  that  of  the  old,  though  it  is  in  itself  com- 
modious and  stately. 

In  the  meantime,  the  standard  of  the  School  has  been 
steadilj  raised.  In  1896  a  rule  was  adopted  that  only 
graduates  of  approved  colleges  and  persons  qualified 
to  enter  the  Senior  Class  at  Harvard  College  should  be 
admitted  as  students.  Three  years  later,  in  1899,  the 
standard  was  still  further  raised  by  requiring  a  bache- 
lor's degree  or  its  ecjuivalent  from  everybody  who 
wished  to  enter  the  School.  At  the  same  time,  the 
standard  of  work  in  the  separate  courses  has  been  con- 
siderably increased.  The  value  of  the  case-system 
obviously  depends  on  drawing  all  members  of  the  class 


v"'    , 


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THE  LAW  SCHOOL 


2(i:{ 


into  the  discussion.  The  Faculty  has  seen  the  nunilnis 
ul"  the  Scl'  A  grow,  with  great  reluctance.  They  have 
therefore  crowded  out  without  mercy  men  who  arc  un- 
;il>Ie  or  unwilling  to  keep  up  with  tlie  pace  of  the 
School.  Even  so,  however,  the  numbers  are  embarrass- 
ing. In  the  year  1911-12  there  were  808  students. 
The  difficulty  of  handling  so  many  has  been  met  in 
jtart  by  dividing  the  classes  into  two  or  more  sections 
under  different  professors,  who  from  time  to  time  ex- 
change their  sections.  In  this  way,  iastruction  for  all 
the  men  is  made  as  nearly  even  as  po-ssiblc. 

The  number  of  branches  of  the  law  in  which  instruc- 
tion is  given  has  gradually  increased,  so  that  there  are 
now  six  courses  open  to  first-year  .students,  nine  courses 
to  second-year  students,  and  eleven  courses  to  third- 
year  students.  Since  each  man  ordinarily  takes  only 
four  subjects  a  year,  the  system  has  become  to  some 
extent  elective.  In  1911,  a  fourth-year  course  was 
established,  leading  to  tho  degree  of  Doctor  of  Law. 
This  degree,  for  which  courses  in  Roman  Law  and  the 
Civil  Law  are  required,  is  intended  for  men  who  wish 
to  ground  thi'mselvcs  in  the  general  principles  of  juris- 
prudence ;  it  is  not  expected  that  it  will  ever  draw  very 
many  students. 

Side  by  side  with  the  regular  instruction  goes  the 
work  of  the  Law  Clubs,  which  is  semi-oflHcially  recog- 
nized by  the  Faculty  of  the  School.  These  clubs,  which 
now  number  about  twenty-five,  elect  eight  members  each 
from  the  incoming  class  to  their  Superior  Court;  the 
Supreme  Court  consists  of  the  same  number  of  men 
from  the  second-year  ela.ss.  The  latter  prepare  cases 
on  doubtful  and  interesting  points  of  the  law,  which 
are  assigned  to  the  first-year  men  to  argue,  there  being 
usually  two  counsel  to  a  side.    They  prepare  their  cases 


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1 


204 


THE  CRADUATE  SCHOOLS 


'  ^ 


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111 


I   I 


^y.  go'ug  through  tlio  n-ports  for  all  the  cases  which 
bear  on  the  point,  and  then  argue  out  their  side  before 
the  upper  classmen.  Occasionally  a  professor  will  sit 
with  the  student  Judge.  The  .judges,  after  hearing  the 
arguments,  road  the  briefs  and  j)reparc  a  formal  judg- 
ment on  the  case. 

Besides  these  Law  Clubs,  which  usually  contain  the 
pick  of  the  students  in  the  School,  the  Faculty  have  at 
various  times  arranged  for  moot  courts,  in  which  a 
professor  goes  over  the  case  and  sits  as  judge  of  the 
contests  bctwei'n  the  various  clubs.  The  work  of  these 
clubs  and  of  these  cases  before  the  Faculty  is  a  serious 
addition  lo  the  amount  of  work  undertaken  by  the 
students,  but  it  is  held  by  the  Faculty  to  be  of  the 
highest  value,  in  that  it  maki-s  it  necessary  for  a  student 
to  hunt  through  the  many  collections  of  reports  just  as 
ho  will  do  when  be  gets  into  practice  and  has  to  argue 
a  ease  for  himself  before  a  real  court.  He  is  thus  made 
familiar  with  the  various  collections  of  reports  not  only 
in  the  United  States  but  in  England,  and  he  learns  to 
make  such  use  of  them  as  a  lawyer  must  make  in  actual 
practice. 

There  are  a  number  of  scholarships  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Faculty  of  Law,  at  present  forty-three.  Resides 
these  there  are  the  four  Sears  prizes  of  $375  each, 
■which  arc  awarded  without  regard  to  pecuniary  means 
to  the  four  students  in  the  School  who  have  done  dur- 
ing the  year  the  mo.st  brilliant  work. 

The  library  of  the  Law  School  is  one  of  the  great 
ornaments  and  one  of  the  great  assets  of  the  Univer- 
sity. It  is  believed  to  be  now  the  largest  single  collec- 
tion on  the  law  and  the  history  of  the  law.  In  1912  it 
consisted  of  148.000  volumes  and  U.OOO  pamphlets. 
It  has  an  unexcelled  collection  of  decisions  of  the  courts 


I 


THE  LAW  SCHOOL 


205 


(if  all  the  countries  which  live  uuder  the  Common  Law, 
including  the  colonics  of  the  British  Empire.  Besides 
tlicsc,  it  has  great  collections  in  Roman  law  and  in 
Civil  law,  and  with  the  recent  addition  of  tiie  Olivart 
collection  of  books  on  the  History  of  International  Law, 
made  by  the  Marquis  Olivart  of  Madrid,  it  has  the 
larfjrest  collection  on  this  subject  which  has  yet  been 
made.  Some  years  ago  before  these  recent  additions, 
Professor  Dicey  of  Oxford  declared  that  "  the  Library 
had  the  most  perfect  collection  of  legal  records  in  the 
English-speaking  world. ' ' 

The  success  of  the  School  and  its  hold  on  the  country 
is  remarkable.  In  1913-14,  out  of  695  students,  less 
than  a  quarter  had  taken  their  first  degree  at  Harvard, 
iind  in  the  list  142  colleges  were  represented.  The  in- 
t<  rest  in  the  work  is  intense,  and  the  competition  keen, 
for,  apart  from  the  proved  value  of  the  training  in 
jireparing  men  to  practice  law.  it  is  doubtful  if  any- 
where else  there  can  be  found  a  more  stimulating  and 
rigorous  mental  gymnasium  than  is  provided  in  the 
classes  of  the  Law  School. 


^11 


Though  the  formal  history  of  the  Divinity  School 
does  not  begin  until  the  organization  of  the  Faculty  of 
Divinity,  in  1819,  practically  the  history  of  instruction 
in  theology  begins  with  that  of  Harvard  College.  The 
'■  Laws,  Liberties,  and  Orders  of  Harvard  College," 
drawn  up  by  President  Dunster  in  1642,  had  as  the 
second  article:  "Everyone  shall  consider  the  main  end 
of  his  life  and  studies  to  know  God  and  Jesus  Christ 
which  is  Eternal  Life  ";  and  the  examination  on  which 
the  first  degree  was  based  covered  "  ability  to  read  the 
original  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  into  the  Latin 
tongue,  and  to  resolve  them  logically."    A  large  pro- 


\t 


lii 


:i 


'  4 


'  (i 


206 


TITfi  ({RADFATE  SCHOOLS 


portion  of  the  early  frraduatcs  wore  ministers.  Fur- 
thormoro,  the  first  pmtVssorship  established  at  Harvard 
College  was  the  Ilollis  F'rofessorship  of  Divinity, 
founded  in  1721. 

Even  in  the  eigiiteenth  eentury,  wlien  the  tlieooraey 
had  broken  down  as  a  praetical  method  of  government, 
and  the  interests  of  this  world  had  foreed  themselves 
into  the  affairs  of  men  and  into  the  instruetion  of  the 
College,  instruction  in  religion  was  still  counted  as  the 
chief  substance  of  education.  The  great  controversy 
which  raged  over  the  liberalizing  of  the  College  early 
in  the  eighteenth  ccnturj'  luid  as  one  of  its  chief  points 
of  strife  the  duty  of  tlic  President  to  give  daily  exposi- 
tions of  the  Scripture  to  the  students.  But  even  the 
most  liberal  men  of  the  time,  all  through  the  century, 
whether  belonging  to  the  Puritan  eliurches  or  to  the 
Episcopal  church,  which  was  making  rapid  headway 
in  Boston,  agreed  that  young  men  sliould  be  trained 
first  of  all  in  religion.  All  through  the  first  two  cen- 
turies of  the  history  of  the  College,  therefore,  prepara 
tion  of  young  men  for  the  ministry  was  assumed  as 
part  of  its  regular  work.  Their  instruction  they  re- 
ceived not  only  as  undergraduates,  but  also  as  graduates, 
reading  under  the  Ilollis  Professor  of  Divinity. 

Gradually,  however,  other  interests  more  and  more 
surpassed  theological  interests,  and  it  became  clear  by 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centur>'  that  Harvard 
College  was  to  be  a  layman's  college.  At  the  same 
time,  the  Unitarian  scission  in  the  Congregational 
church,  about  the  })eginning  of  the  century,  produced  a 
new  and  very  lively  interest  in  theology,  and  this  in- 
terest reacted  on  the  instruction  in  divinity.  Dr.  Henry 
Ware  (A.B.  1785),  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  the 
early  Unitarians,  was  elected  Hollis  Professor  in  1805, 


II    i 


THE  DIVIXITY  SCHOOL 


207 


and  in  1811  bef,'an  systematic  instruction  of  resident 
students  in  theology.  Six  years  later,  in  1817,  this 
instruction  attracted  enough  students  to  make  it  worth 
while  to  have  public  exercises  for  their  graduation.  In 
IHI'J,  the  Corporation  and  Overseers  authorized  the 
IluUis  Professor  of  Divinity,  the  Hancock  Professor 
.if  Hebrew,  the  Alford  Professor  of  Natural  Religion, 
Moral  Philosophy,  and  Civil  Polity,  and  the  Dexter 
Professor  of  Sacred  Literature  to  organize  themselves 
as  a  Faculty  of  Divinity. 

The  Divinity  School  was  the  first  of  the  professional 
schools  of  the  University  to  become  a  graduate  profes- 
sional school.  Thus  organized,  tiie  School  was  in- 
tended to  be  a  Unitarian  seminarj',  and  it  was  recog- 
nized as  such.  Nevertheless,  as  early  as  1830,  when 
the  Society  for  Promoting  Theological  Education  at 
Harvard  University,  which  consisted  wholly  of  Uni- 
tarians, turned  the  funds  over  to  the  President  and 
Fellows,  they  made  the  condition  that  no  "  assent  to 
peculiarities  of  any  denomination  of  Christians  shall 
he  required  of  either  the  instructors  or  students."  In 
spite  of  this  liberal  proviso,  the  School  from  natural 
causes  long  remained  Unitarian,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  latter  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  that  any 
considerable  number  of  ministers  were  prepared  for 
other  denominations. 

Under  President  Eliot,  as  we  have  seen,  the  School 
(arly  raised  its  profi'ssional  level.  In  1882  it  became 
strictly  a  graduate  school,  and  no  candidate  was  ad- 
mitted to  study  for  the  degree  who  had  not  received 
the  degree  of  A.B..  or  its  equivalent.  In  1800  the  tui- 
tion fee  was  mi-  d  to  $150,  and  the  Divinity  School 
was  put  on  a  K  vel  with  the  other  departments  of  the 
University. 


208 


TIIK  ORADUATE  SCHOOLS 


'! 


'  i 


I- 


The  instruction  in  the  Divinity  .School  is  more  closely 
interlocked  with  that  of  the  College  than  is  that  in  the 
other  professional  schools.  Since  the  School  provides 
more  instruction  than  can  be  covered  by  any  one  man 
in  the  three  years'  study  required  for  the  degree,  it  has 
of  necessity  adopted  the  elective  system.  Many  of  the 
forty  courses  of  instruction  offered  arc  identical  with 
courses  ofTcred  in  Harvard  College  and  the  Graduate 
School  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  most  of  the  others 
may  be  taken  by  competent  students  in  the  College  or 
the  Graduate  Schools.  At  the  same  time,  all  the  in- 
struction offered  by  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences 
is  open  to  regular  or  special  students  in  the  Divinity 
School. 

The  School  was  greatly  strengthened  in  1908,  when 
an  arrangement  was  made  with  the  Trustees  of  the 
Andover  Theological  Seminarj-  by  which  that  Seminary 
was  removed  to  Cambridge  and  brought  into  close  al- 
liance and  cooperation  with  the  School.  The  Andover 
Seminary,  which  has  large  endowments,  has  built  a 
beautiful  stono  building  on  land  near  the  building  of 
the  Divinity  School.  Here  the  libraries  of  the  two 
institutions  have  been  merged  in  one,  making  a  joint 
collection  of  over  100,000  volumes  and  nearly  50,000 
pamphlets.  The  instruction  also  is  m.erged;  and  pro- 
fessors on  the  Andover  foundation  are  elected  Andover 
Professors  in  Harvard  University. 

The  economy  of  the  arrangement  is  obvious.  There 
are  many  subjects  of  instruction  in  a  divinity  school, 
sucli  as  Hebrew,  and  Old  Testament  criticism,  to  go 
no  further,  which  can  in  no  way  lie  affected  by  theo- 
logical differences.  Thus  the  joint  Faculty  of  the  two 
institutions  can  l)i'  diversified  by  providing  for  instruc- 
tion and  investigation  in  a  greater  number  of  subjects 


THE  SCIENTIFIC  SCHOOL 


209 


tliaii  would  be  possible  if  each  school  had  to  maintain 
a  complete  stalf  for  all  tlie  fundamental  subjects. 

The  ambition  of  the  Harvard  Divinity  School  to  be 
a  non-sectarian  institution  for  "  the  serious,  impartial, 
and  unbiased  investigation  of  Christian  Truth  "  is  un- 
(jucstionably  successful.  In  1913-14,  among  the  fifty- 
.scven  students  in  the  Harvard  Divinity  School  and  the 
Andover  School  fifty-one  different  colleges  and  sixteen 
theological  seminaries  were  represented.  Within  thirty 
years  students  of  the  School  have  entered  the  ministry 
of  eleven  different  denominations.  In  the  Faculty  at 
present  there  are  Unitarians,  Orthodox  Congregation- 
alists,  and  Baptists.  There  are  no  theological  tests  or 
requirements,  though  it  is  provided  that  a  professorship 
of  theology  shall  always  be  held  by  a  Unitarian.  So 
far  as  it  is  possible,  however,  under  conditions  as  they 
now  exist,  the  Harvard  Divinity  School  has  accom- 
plished its  aim  of  being  undenominational. 

The  history  of  technical  and  scientific  education  at 
Harvard  goes  back  more  than  two  generations,  to  the 
foundation  of  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School  and  the 
endowment  of  the  Bussey  Institution.  In  1847  the 
Corporation  and  Overseers  announced  their  intention 
of  offering  instruction  in  applied  sciences  for  mature 
students,  and  the  Honorable  Abbott  Lawrence  made 
possible  the  immediate  establishment  of  the  work  by 
liis  gift  of  a  building  and  of  a  fund  for  a  professorship. 
This  school  was  intended  to  give  instruction  in  both 
pure  and  applied  science.  The  endowment  of  the 
Bussey  Institution  was  provided  by  a  will  written  in 
1835  by  Benjamin  Bussey  (A.B.  1803).  He  died  in 
1842,  but  as  the  estate  was  subject  to  annuitieSj  thq 


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210 


TIIK  GRADrATE  SCHOOLS 


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1 


School  of  Agriculture  and  Horticulture,  for  which  he 
provided,  was  not  organized  until  1871.  The  will, 
which  was  written  more  than  thirty-five  years  before 
the  passage  by  Congress  of  the  Morrill  Act,  which  es- 
tablished the  state  agricultural  colleges,  was  half  a 
century  in  advance  of  the  times.  The  fortunes  of  the 
Bussey  Institution  will  be  dealt  with  separately. 

The  Lawrence  Scientific  School  in  the  first  years  of 
its  career  gathered  together  a  remarkable  set  of  stu- 
dents, a  large  proportion  of  them  already  Bachelors 
of  Arts.  The  four  members  of  the  first  class  which 
was  graduated  were  "William  Louis  Jones,  who  became 
Professor  of  Physics,  Chemistry,  and  Agriculture  at 
the  University  of  Georgia;  Joseph  Le  Contc.  who  was 
professor  of  scientific  subjects  successively  at  the  Col- 
lege of  South  Carolina,  the  University  of  Georgia,  and 
the  LTniversity  of  California,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society  and  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences;  John  Daniel  Runkle,  who  was 
professor  at  and  President  of  the  Massachusetts  Insti- 
tute of  Technologj-;  and  David  Ames  Wells,  the  dis- 
tinguished economist,  who  received  a  D.C.L.  from  Ox- 
ford, and  was  a  fellow  of  the  American  Academy  and 
corresponding  member  of  the  Institute  of  France. 
Among  other  early  graduates  were  Francis  Humphreys 
Storer,  long  Dean  of  the  Bussey  Institution ;  Alexander 
Agassiz;  James  IMason  Crafts,  at  one  time  President 
of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology;  Simon 
Newcomb,  whose  honors  occupy  a  whole  column  in  the 
Quinquennial  Catalogue;  Daniel  Cady  Eaton,  Pro- 
fessor of  Botany  at  Yale;  John  "Williams  Langley,  of 
the  Smithsonian  Institution;  Alpheus  Hyatt,  professor 
at  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology  and  at 
Boston    University,    Vice-President    of    the    American 


I 


THE  SCIENTIFIC  SCHOOL 


211 


Academy,  member  of  the  National  Academy  and  other 
societies;  Frederic  Ward  Putnam,  for  many  years  Pea- 
body  Professor  of  American  Arcbteoiogy  and  Eth- 
nology, and  Curator  of  the  Peabody  Museum;  Samuel 
Hubbard  Scudder,  a  distinguished  entomologist; 
Nathaniel  Southgate  Shaler,  later  the  beloved  Dean  of 
the  School;  Cleveland  Abbe,  Prof(>ssor  of  ]\Ieteorology 
in  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau;  Alpheus  Spring 
Packard,  long  Professor  of  Zoology  and  Geologj'  at 
IJrown  University,  and  a  member  of  many  foreign 
societies;  Edward  Charles  Pickering,  Director  of  the 
Observatory;  John  Trowbridge,  Rumford  Professor, 
and  Director  of  the  Jefferson  Physical  Laboratory; 
Professor  William  Morris  Davis,  Dr.  Ilarvey  W.  Wiley, 
and  many  others.  No  department  of  the  University, 
or,  it  is  probably  safe  to  say,  of  any  university  in 
America,  has  graduated  so  large  a  proportion  of  men 
Avho  reached  high  distinction  in  later  life. 

Gradually,  as  has  been  stated,  after  the  War  the  char- 
acter of  the  School  changed,  and  by  the  eighties  it  had 
so  run  down  as  to  be  not  much  more  than  an  annex  to 
the  College,  which  harbored  students  whose  desire  for 
tlie  cheer  and  good-fellowship  of  college  life  surpassed 
their  intellectual  zeal  or  capacity.  The  requirements 
lor  entrance  and  the  minimum  standards  of  work  were 
low,  and  the  instruction,  though  of  good  quality,  was 
small  in  amount.  Nevertheless,  even  at  its  lowest  es- 
tate, when  the  classes  had  sunk  to  three  or  four  stu- 
dents and  the  number  of  degrees  in  technical  science 
had  almost  vanished,  each  j'car  there  were  graduated 
men  who  have  made  excellent  records  for  themselves 
in  scientific  work.  With  the  beginning  of  the  last 
•lecade  of  the  last  century,  the  number  of  students 
began  to  increase,  and  by  1900  it  had  run  up  to  more 


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212 


THE  GRADrATI-:  SCHOOLS 


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than  five  hundred.  Tlien,  in  190(!,  tin-  School  was  re- 
organized and  trausformod  into  a  <?radiiato  professional 
school.  In  1910,  with  the  graduation  of  the  last  can- 
didates for  the  S.Ii.  registered  in  tiie  Lawrence  Scien- 
tific School,  the  School  disappeared  from  the  index  of 
the  University  Catalogue. 

This  reorganization  was  the  immediate  result  of  the 
great  endowment  for  study  and  research  in  applied 
science  made  by  the  will  of  Gordon  McKay,  who  did 
so  much  to  perfect  shoe  machinery.  His  bequest,  whicii 
is  approximately  $5,000,000  in  amount,  he  tied  up-  so 
ingeniously  and  so  intelligently  as  to  insure  a  long  and 
steady  increase  in  the  resources  of  the  Graduate  Schools 
of  Applied  Science.  He  had  provided  for  his  children 
in  his  lifetime;  and  in  his  will,  after  creating  certain 
small  annuities  which  were  likely  to  run  for  many 
years,  he  provided  that  the  income  of  his  estate  should 
accumulate  until  it  amounted  to  a  million  dollars.  This 
sum  was  then  to  be  paid  over  to  the  University  to  bo 
used  as  capital.  Thereafter,  each  year,  eighty  per  cent 
of  the  income  of  tiie  estate  was  to  be  paid  to  the  Uni- 
versity, again  to  be  used  as  capital;  this  will  continue 
until  the  annuities  lapse.  Thus  the  School  of  Applied 
Science  which  he  wished  to  provide  for  was  sure  of 
making  a  start  with  a  liberal  endowment,  and  then 
was  sure  of  a  .steady,  liberal  increase  in  that  endow- 
ment for  many  years  to  come. 

In  view  of  tliis  bequest,  the  governing  boards  in  1906 
reorganized  the  instruction  in  applied  science  on  a  new 
basis,  which  brought  engi)icering  in  its  various  branches 
into  company  with  the  other  learned  professions  by  bas- 
ing the  technical  profession  of  the  engineer  on  an  edu- 
cation such  as  is  given  by  a  good  American  college.  It 
was  provided  accordingly  that  the  new  Graduate  School 


SCHOOLS  OF  APPLIED  SCIENCE 


213 


of  Applied  Science  sliould  l)e  open  only  to  holders  of  a 
liachelor's  degree;  and  on  top  of  this  preliminary  edu- 
cation, the  technical  work  for  the  degree  in  applied 
Sfii'nce  was  to  occupy  two  years.  Thus  the  degree  of 
A.M.  and  a  technical  degree  can  together  he  ohtained 
ill  six  years,  or,  by  students  who  can  accomplish  their 
imdergraduate  work  in  three  years,  it  can  be  obtained 
ill  five. 

In  1912  a  further  step  was  taken  by  wliich  this 
(Iraduate  School  of  Applied  Science  was  reorganized 
into  a  group  of  Schools  of  Applied  Science,  under  a 
single  Faculty.  At  the  same  time,  a  clearer  line  was 
drawn  between  undergraduate  and  technical  study.  Up 
to  that  time,  the  future  engineer  or  architect  could 
put  a  good  deal  of  .strictly  technical  work  besides  mathe- 
matics and  science  into  his  undergraduate  course. 
With  the  reorganization,  all  the  strictly  technical 
courses  were  transferred  to  the  Graduate  Schools  of 
Applied  Science,  leaving  in  Harvard  College  only  such 
courses  preparatory  for  engineering  as  might  properly 
he  maintained  in  any  well-developed  undergraduate 
curriculum. 

The  students  in  the  Graduate  Schools  of  Applied 
Science  are  expected  to  come  to  their  work  with  their 
^'cneral  preparation  in  mathematics  and  science  com- 
pleted. Then  for  two  whole  years  they  work  practically 
without  intermission.  In  the  summer,  work  is  carried 
on  either  in  the  shops  and  laboratories  in  Cambridge 
or  at  the  engineering  camp  at  Squam  Lake,  New  Hamp- 
.sliire.  The  students  in  these  Schools  of  Applied  Science 
liave  only  two  weeks  of  vacation  in  the  two  j'cars,  out- 
side the  regular  University  recosses  at  Christmas  and 
iu  the  spring.  By  such  continuous  work  men  who  are 
matured  by  a  college  training,  and  are  welded  together 


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214 


THE  ORAOrATE  SCHOOLS 


by  a  common  concentration  of  interest  can-  get  a  thor- 
ough  technical  training  in  tlie  two  continuous  calendar 
years.  The  habit  of  intense  work  for  a  long  period  ia 
not  the  least  important  part  of  the  training  which  they 
get  from  the  School. 

Under  this  new  organization  instruction  in  applied 
science  is  given  in  Graduate  Schools  of  Engineering, 
Mining,  Architecture  and  Landscape  Arciiitecture, 
Forestry,  and  Applied  Biology,  the  last  at  the  Bussey 
Institution.  The  work  in  the  School  of  Engineering 
leads  to  the  degree  of  Master  in  Civil  Engineering,  in 
Mechanical  Engineering,  or  in  Electrical  Engineering; 
that  in  the  Graduate  School  of  :\Iining  to  the  degree  of 
Mining  Engineer  or  Metallurgical  Engineer;  the  work 
in  the  School  of  Architecture  and  Landscape  Architec- 
ture to  the  degree  of  Master  in  one  or  the  other  of  those 
subjects;  the  work  in  the  School  of  Forestry  to  the 
degree  of  Master  of  Forestry;  and  that  in  the  School 
of  Applied  Biology  to  the  degrees  of  Master  of  Science 
and  Doctor  of  Science.  The  degree  of  Master  of  Science 
may  also  be  given  in  special  fields  of  a{)plied  Science, 
in  Physics  or  Geology,  for  special  work.  All  the  schools 
may  confer  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Science  on  con- 
ditions similar  to  those  prescribed  for  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  the  Gmduate  Scliool  of  Arts 
and  Sciences. 

The  School  of  Engineering  has  at  present  a  good 
equipment  in  Pierce  ITall ;  and  there  is  now  under  con- 
struction a  special  building  for  instruction  and  re- 
search in  high-tension  electricity,  which  will  have  ap- 
paratus for  the  production  of  currents  of  electricity  of 
extreme  power.  Students  in  electrical  engineering  also 
have  the  advantage  of  the  electrical  laboratories  in  the 
Jefferson  Physical  Laboratory.    The  work  in  the  Grad- 


SCHOOLS  OF  APPLIED  SCIENCE         215 

uat<'  School  of  Eiijjiui'oring  is  distributed  uniong  courses 
ill  civil,  mechanical,  electrical,  and  sanitary  engineering. 
The  laboratories  lor  civil,  mechanical,  and  electrical 
'iigineering  are  in  Pierce  Hall.  Here  there  arc  large 
drafting  rooms  and  a  library  containing  more  than 
cij,'ht  thousand  volumes,  with  over  one  hundred  tech- 
nical journals  regularly  on  file.  There  are  laboratories 
for  applied  mechanics  and  for  the  study  of  heaten- 
friiies,  for  the  study  of  cement  and  concrete,  and  for 
tile  testing  of  iron,  steel,  and  other  structural  materials. 
There  is  also  a  hydraulic  laboratory,  which  has  facilities 
for  testing  the  flow  of  water  under  different  conditions ; 
and  the  work  in  this  laboratory  is  supplemented  by 
work  done  at  Lowell,  Massachusetts,  on  the  water-power 
there.  For  electrical  work  there  are  in  Pierce  Hall 
l.'iboratories  for  carrying  on  tests  and  making  electrical 
measurements,  and  a  laboratory  with  an  equipment  of 
various  types  of  direct  and  alternating  current  ap- 
paratus. There  is  also  a  laboratory  for  the  study  of 
I)roblems  in  illuminating  engineering.  The  laboratory 
in  sanitary  engineering  is  equipped  with  apparatus 
for  making  analyses  of  air,  water,  and  sewage,  both 
chemical  and  biological,  and  for  experimental  work 
relating  to  sewage  and  to  purification  of  water.  The 
sliop-work  courses  are  given  during  the  summer  at  the 
fiindgc  Technical  School  of  the  city  of  Cambridge. 
Here  students  get  practical  work  in  blacksmith  shop, 
pattern  shop,  and  machine  shop. 

The  surveying  courses  are  carried  on,  also  during 
the  summer,  at  the  Ilan-ard  Engineering  Camp  on 
S(iuam  Lake,  New  Hampshire.  Here  the  University 
(iwns  700  acres  of  land,  with  buildings  for  class-rooms 
?)ud  drafting  room?!.  The  students  and  instructors  live 
in  tents,  and  have  their  meals  on  a  covered  piazza.    The 


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THE  (iUADLATE  SCHOOLS 


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life  i.i  !i  ^iiiipli  HI  idoor  lilo,  with  plenty  of  hard  work. 
Tlu'  Camp  is  in  session  for  thirteen  weeks  every  sum- 
mer, bcginninir  iimnediately  after  Comrn<'ncenient.  The 
instruction  ((insists  of  courses  in  tlie  different  brunches 
of  survi  yiiiiT  and  railroad  enf,'ineennff,  also  in  elemen- 
tary meelianies,  mechanical  di  iwinjj,  descriptive  peom- 
etry,  and  other  sulgects  necessary  for  an  engineer. 
Mueii  of  tlie  work  in  sanitary  engineering  is  also  car- 
ried on  at  the  Enjjineerin*;  Camp,  es{)ecialiy  the  study 
of  the  pliysi(.'s  and  biolofiy  of  lakes  and  reservoirs,  and 
the  other  sul).i(  cts  which  are  included  under  the  name 
limnology,— the  science  of  lakes  and  reservoirs.  The 
life  at  tlie  Camp  is  thus  an  agreeable  combination  of 
hard  work  and  outdoor  life,  with  a  chance  for  swimming 
and  boating  in  what  time  there  is  left  over. 

Tiie  Graduate  School  of  Mining  carries  on  its  work 
in  the  Rotch  Building  on  Holmes  Field,  which  has  a 
laboratory  for  iiK^talhirgieal  chemistry  and  metallog- 
raphy, and  also  the  three  laboratories  given  in  memory 
of  John  Simpkins  (A.B.  1885),  for  experimental  work 
in  ore-dressing,  and  in  assay  and  metallurgical  work. 
Each  of  these  laboratories  is  well  equipped  with  modem 
machinery  and  outtit  for  analyses. 

The  School  of  Architecture  and  Landscape  Archi- 
tecture is  most  fortunately  and  adequately  equipped; 
for  it  has  Robinson  Hall  and  the  generous  and  com- 
plete endowment  which  came  with  it,  given  in  memory 
of  Nelson  Robinson,  Jr.,  of  the  Class  of  1900,  who  died 
during  his  college  course.  The  building  is  as  complete 
as  it  was  possible  to  make  it,  and  with  it  goes  a  Nelson 
Robinson,  Jr.  Professorship  of  Architecture  and  a  Nel- 
son Robinson.  Jr.  Travelling  Fellowship  in  Architec- 
ture,    The  building  has  excellent  drawing-rooms,  well 


SCHOOLS  OF  APPLIED  SCIENCE 


217 


Iij,'lil((l  from  tlu'  north,  and  a  liltrary  ol'  over  tirtccn 
liiindr«'d  books  on  Architecture  and  over  one  tliousautl 
on  Landscape  Archittctun".  It  has,  besides,  a  collec- 
tion of  eleven  thousanvl  photographs  of  architectural 
.sijlijccts.  The  entrance  hall  is  two  stories  in  height, 
11  mi  iiere  are  installed  full-sized  casts  of  columns  and 
(itlicr  large  architectural  elements.  Casts  of  other 
an-hitectural  features,  such  as  doorways,  balconies,  and 
window  frames,  are  used  as  parts  of  the  bnililing. 
There  is  also  an  interesting  collection  of  original  frag- 
ments, chiefly  marble,  of  (Jreek,  Roman,  and  Italian 
Kenaissanee  detail,  built  into  the  walls,  both  inside 
:iii(|  outside. 

Landscape  architecture,  though  't  is  treated  as  a 
liranch  of  design  closely  related  to  architecture,  yet 
dips  into  a  great  variety  of  other  subji'cts.  Students  in 
landscape  architecture  study  topographical  surveying 
at  the  Engineering  Camp  at  Squam  Lake,  and  they  get 
instruction  in  horticulture  and  arboriculture  at  the 
Botanic  Garden  and  the  Arnold  Arboretum.  The  work 
in  drawing  and  the  lectures  in  practice  and  design  are 
carried  on  in  Robinson  Hall. 

The  School  of  Forcstrj'  has  its  main  establishment 
at  the  Harvard  Poorest  in  Petersham,  eighty-five  miles 
west  of  Cambridge.  Here,  through  the  generosity  of 
.Mr.  John  S.  Ames,  '01,  and  other  friends,  the  Univer- 
sity has  two  thousand  acres  of  land,  most  of  it  well 
wooded,  with  trees  in  all  stages  of  growth.  There  is  a 
fine  growth  of  large  pine,  and  some  of  the  land  is  in  open 
f-Tound,  which  affords  the  chance  for  instruction  in 
I'iforestation.  The  land  is  varied  in  contour  and  in 
surface,  and  lies  in  a  region  of  high  hills  long  famous 
for  its  beauty.     Here  the  students  spend  almost  half 


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218 


TFIK  GRADUATE  SCHOOLS 


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meir  two  years'  course,  living  a  semi-camping  life, 
fjoing  about  in  flannel  sliirts,  and  taking  the  life  of  a 
woodsman  as  it  eomes.  Before  the  end  of  his  course 
each  student  must  also  spend  two  months  in  actual 
lumbering  operations  in  a  commercial  undertaking. 

The  history  of  the  liussey  Institution  has  been  long 
and  varied,  and.  until  the- organization  of  the  Graduate 
School  of  Applied  Biology,  in  general  unfortunate.    The 
funds  did  not  become  available  for  setting  up  the  School 
of  Horticulture  and  Agriculture  provided  for  by  Mr. 
Bussey  until  1871,  and  the  next  year  the  great  Boston 
fire  swept  away  a  large  part  of  its  income-bearing  en- 
dowment.    Though  a  great  subscription  was  raised  to 
restore  the  endowments   of  the  other  departments  of 
the  University  which  had  suffered  by  this  catastrophe, 
nothing  was  done  to  help  the  Bussey  Institution.    More' 
over,  it  was  in  advance  of  its  time,  and  even  th-  agri- 
cultural   colleges   of  the   West   were   still   langu    aing 
Its  land  was  ill-fitted  for  its  purpose,  and  became  more 
so  each  year  as  the  city  grew  up  around  it.    The  small 
number  of  Bachelors  of  Agriculture  who  appeared  each 
year  on  the  platform  at  Commencement  were  received 
with  hardly  disguised  amusement.    For  many  years  the 
Bussey   Institution  thus  ran  along  in  a  state  of  sus- 
pended development. 

About  the  time  that  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School 
was  reorganized  into  the  Graduate  School  of  Applied 
Science,  a  change  had  occurred  in  the  officers  of  the 
Bussey  Institution,  and  Dean  Sabine,  who  had  just  been 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  new  work  in  applied 
science,  proposed  to  the  Corporation  that  the  Bussey 
Institution  should  be  added  to  it  and  made  the  seat  of 
a  Graduate  School  of  Applied  Biology  for  advanced  re- 


THE  BUSSEY  INSTITUTION 


219 


search  in  agricultural  and  horticultural  science.  Their 
consent  obtained,  he  drew  on  the  Faculty  of  the  Medical 
School  and  the  Faculty  at  Cambridge,  and  with  the 
addition  of  two  or  three  new  appointments,  made  up  a 
l"'aculty  which  for  study  in  comparative  pathology,  in 
lioredity  and  genetics,  both  animal  and  plant,  and  in 
applied  entomology,  is  practically  unexcelled  in  the 
country. 

The  work  of  the  Bussey  Institution  is  carried  on  in 
the  buildings  at  Forest  Hills,  which  were  erected  on 
the  original  foundation.  Here  arc  kept  the  guinea-pigs, 
mice,  rabbits,  and  other  animals,  whose  pedigrees  arc 
recorded  in  some  cases  for  many  generations.  In  the 
adjacent  greenhouses  and  experiment  beds  are  carried 
on  similar  experiments  in  the  breeding  of  plants.  The 
work  in  economic  entomology  and  in  plant-breeding  has 
also  the  advantage  of  the  plantations  in  the  Arnold 
Arboretum,  which  were  established  on  part  of  the  Bus- 
soy  land.  For  many  years  the  Bussey  Institution  has 
jdovided  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Health 
with  the  supply  of  antitoxin  for  diphtheria. 

It  is  not  expected  or  intended  that  the  number  of 
students  at  the  Bussey  Institution  shall  at  any  time  be 
large ;  but  it  is  hoped  that  as  the  work  develops,  mature 
students  who  have  already  had  a  good  scientific  train- 
ing will  be  drawn  there  from  the  agricultural  colleges 
tliroughout  the  country,  for  advanced  research,  and  that 
tlie  results  of  the  research  carried  on  there  will  be  ap- 
plied practically  iu  these  agricultural  colleges. 

The  aim  of  all  these  Schools  of  Applied  Science  is  to 
turn  out  practitioners,  as  well  as  teachers,  but  practi- 
tioners who  will  go  on  to  their  practical  work  with  a 
large  outlook.  Through  the  close  relations  of  the  va- 
rious departments  of  pure  science  throughout  the  Uni- 


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220 


THE  GRAI)['ATE  SCHOOLS 


versity,    the    spirit    of    disinterested    research    will    be 
nourished  and  kept  strong.     In  the  instruetion  in  elec- 
trical engineering,  for  example,  it  is  a  great  advantage 
to  the  students  to  have  part  of  their  instruetion  given 
by  professors  of  the  Department  of  Physics  whose  in- 
terest is  in  research  and  pure  science;  and  the  close 
relation   between    the   Department   of  Sanitary    Engi- 
neering and   the  course  in  the  .Aledieal   School   which 
leads  to  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Public  Health  obviously 
reacts  favorably  for  both  sides.     A  professional  spirit 
in  the  best  sense  of  the  word   will  be  cultivated  and 
strengthened  by  this  intimate  association  of  men  whose 
energies  are  given  wholly  to  the  disinterested  search  for 
new  knowledge  with  men  who  are  actively  interested  in 
applying  new  knowledge  to  the  bettering  of  the  con- 
ditions  of  life. 


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The  latest  graduate  school  to  be  established  at  Har- 
vard is  the  Graduate  School  of  Business  Administra- 
tion.    For  a  gooil  wliile  observers  in  this  country  have 
noted  that  the  line  of  demarcation  between  business  and 
the  professions  has  been  fading  away.     With   the  in- 
crease  in   the  complexity  and   magnitude   of   business 
enterprises  all  through  the  last  generation,  more  and 
more   business   men   had   to   face  their  problems   with 
the  same  faculties  of  trained  observation  and  reasoning, 
and  the  same  amassing  of  facts,   which   had    been   so 
productive  in  medicine  and  other  sciences  and  in  engi- 
neering.    For  many  years  large  business  enterprises  of 
various  kinds  have  had  professional  statisticians  in  their 
offices.     Clearly  the  way  was  preparing  for  research  in 
business  to  take  its  place  beside  research  in  other  forms 
of  activity. 

Accordingly,    after  careful   discus.sinn,   a    fund   was 


SCHOOL  OF  BUSINESS  ADMINISTRATION   221 

raised  in  1908  to  guarantee  for  five  yeai-s  the  uiaiut(!- 
iiancc  of  a  Graduate  School  of  Business  Administration. 
For  Dean  of  the  new  school,  the  President  and  Fellows 
selected  Professor  Edwin  Francis  Gay  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Economics,  who  had  made  wide  and  profound 
studies  in  economic  history;  and  a  Faculty  was  ap- 
pointed of  men  who  had  been  trained  in  the  science  of 
economics,  but  whose  interests  had  led  them  to  the 
practical  side  of  the  subject.  Some  of  them  after  their 
appointment  were  given  leave  of  absence,  in  order  that 
they  might  collect  material  and  further  equip  them- 
selves by  travel  or  by  practical  experience  in  large 
business  enterprises.  The  Professor  of  Transportation 
came  to  the  School  direct  from  the  office  of  a  large 
railroad,  and  he  had  already  served  in  various  capacities 
on  three  other  railroads.  Other  courses  were  laid  out 
ill  which  the  lectures  were  to  be  given  by  men  actually 
engaged  in  business;  and  for  these  courses  business 
men  at  the  head  of  great  enterprises  readily  offered 
tlu'ir  services.  They  are  under  the  general  direction 
of  a  regular  member  of  the  staflF,  who  prepares  before- 
hand a  scheme  of  the  lectures  and  assigns  the  topics 
to  each  of  the  lecturers;  and  he  is  responsible  for  ar- 
ranging for  the  work  of  the  students  and  for  the  ex- 
aminations. 

Not  only  in  these  courses,  but  in  almost  all  the  others 
in  the  School,  it  was  necessary  to  invent  methods  of 
instruction.  There  were  no  precedents;  for  instruction 
iti  business  affairs  on  p.  graduate  basis  was  new.  It  was 
dicided  that  the  instruction  should  so  far  as  possible 
follow  what  is  known  as  the  problem  method:  that  is 
to  say,  that  facts  drawn  from  actual  business  affairs 
should  be  put  before  the  students  for  study,  and  should 
Ib.en  be  discussed  in  the  class,  so  that  the  students 


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222 


THE  GRADl'ATE  SCHOOLS 


sliould  work  out  for  theiiisolvcs.  under  the  guidance  of 
the  instnu'tor.  the  prineiples  which  shouUl  be  applied 
to  the  facts.  The  system  foHows,  with  some  necessary 
charifres  <hie  to  the  diirerence  in  the  material  used,  the 
ease-system  of  the  Law  School,  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
lias  also  hecn  adopted  f-  use  in  the  Medical  School.' 
It  has  proved  both  pr.icticable  and  effective  in  the 
Graduate  School  of  Business  Administration.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  methoil  of  instruction  is  not  to  load  up 
students  with  great  bodies  of  facts,  but  rather  to  train 
them  to  collect  facts  for  themselves,  to  adjust  these 
facts,  and  to  reason  out  from  them  principles  on  which 
practical  action  in  l)usiness  can  be  based. 

Each   student   in   his   second   and  final  year  in  the 
School,  as  an  important  part  of  the  work  on  which  the 
degree  is  conferred,  must  i)rescnt  a  thesis  in  the  form 
of  a  report  on  some  going  business  concern.     To  enable 
students  to  collect  the  material  for  these  reports,  many 
busines.s  concerns  have   freely   and   generously  opened 
their  books  to  the  students  of  the  School.     The  reports 
are  expected  to  be  thorough  and  practical.     One  such 
report  dealt  with  the  organ izati(m  of  a  large  department 
store,  and  the  head  of  the  firm,  after  reading  the  report, 
adopted  some  of  the  suggestions  which  were  made  in  it,' 
and  offered  its  writer  a  good  position  in  his  establish- 
ment.    There  seems  to  be  every  probability  that   the 
School  will  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  material  for  its 
students  to  work  on ;  for  the  interest  of  business  men  in 
the  methods  and  objects  of  the  School  has  been  more 
than  cordial. 

One  of  the  main  objects  of  the  School  is  to  collect 
material  for  nseareh  and  study,  and  it  has  already  in 
its  archives  considerable  collections  of  report.s  of  cor- 
porations and  files  of  official  papers.     In  addition,  it 


SCHOOL  OF  BUSINESS  AD^IIXISTRATION  22;{ 

lias  already  received  much  material  to  be  used  eou- 
iideutially  aud  under  fixed  conditions:  in  some  cases 
not  at  all  for  a  fixed  number  of  years;  in  other  eases 
only  by  the  Dean  of  the  School  or  by  his  personal  per- 
mission. As  business  comes  to  be  organized  on  an  in- 
creasingly large  scale,  it  becomes  less  private.  More- 
over, always,  as  the  generations  pass,  the  necessity  of 
Ijrivaey  for  records  fades  away. 

It  is  probable  that  this  research  into  the  actual  con- 
ditions of  business  will  react  on  the  science  of  economies. 
That  science  in  the  past  has  proceeded  largely  by  a 
liriori  reasoning,  and  its  principles  have  tended  to  be 
tlii'oretical  and  sometimes  metaphysical.  The  principles 
i>n  which  the  work  of  this  School  is  based  are  essen- 
li:dly  those  of  a  .science,  under  which  business  research 
will  work  towards  economic  principles  by  first  gather- 
ing the  facts,  and  then  generalizing  from  them. 

The  School  now  has  seven  departments,  and  it  is 
jjossible  that  more  may  bo  added  in  the  future.  The 
seven  departments  in  which  instruction  is  now  given  are 
Aeeuunting,  Commercial  Law,  Commercial  Organiza- 
tion, Industrial  Organization,  Banking  and  Finance, 
Transportation,  and  In.,arance.  Among  the  courses 
ill  Industrial  Organization  are  special  courses  on  print- 
ing, which  were  established  at  the  request  of  the  Boston 
Society  of  Printers. 

The  Graduate  School  of  Business  Administration  is 
almost  as  closely  related  with  Harvard  College  as  are 
t'le  Graduate  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences  and  the  Grad- 
uate Schools  of  Api)lied  Science.  Several  of  the  Faculty 
of  the  Business  School  also  give  instru<tion  for  under- 
>.'raduatcs,  and  e(>rtain  courses  offered  by  the  Faculty  of 
.\rts  and  Seienc<'S  are  necessary  preparation  for  the 
courses  in  busuiess.    Tiie  ollices  and  lecture-rooms  of  the 


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School  are  in  the  College  buildings,  and  all  the  privileges 
of  the  University  are  open  to  its  students. 

With  the  graduate  schools  of  the  University,  it  will 
be  oonvenient  to  describe  Radcliffe  College  and  the  work 
of  Univ.'rsity  Extension.  Though  they  are  establish- 
ments of  quite  different  character  from  each  other  and 
also  from  the  graduate  schools,  they  have  this  in  com- 
mon  with  each  other  and  with  some  of  the  graduate 
schools,  that  they  both  make  use  of  the  services  of  the 
Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences. 

Radcliffe  College  is  affiliated  with  the  University, 
though  it  has  its  own  corporation  and  administrative 
officers,  and  its  own  separate  funds,  administered  by  its 
own  officers.  Its  purpose  is  to  provide  for  the  instruc 
tion  of  women  by  professors  and  other  instructors  in 
Harvard  University. 

Its  history  goes  back  to  1879,  when  Professor  J   B 
Greenough,  Professor  F.  J.  Child,  and  Professor  W.  W 
Goodwin  became  interested  in  giving  advanced  instruc 
tion  to  a  young  woman  who  had  come  to  Cambridge 
for  the  special  purpose  of  receiving  it.    At  the  sugges- 
tion of  Mr.  Arthur  Oilman,  this  instruction  was  ex- 
tended  and  systematized,  and  a  committee  of  ladies  in 
Cambridge,  under  the  lead  of  lAIrs.  Louis  Agassiz,  raised 
a  small  sum  to  provide  for  such  instruction  for  four 
years.    The  essential  character  of  the  scheme  was  thct 
the  instruction  should  be  of  the  same  grade  as  that 
given  in  Harvard  College,  and  that  it  should  be  given 
by  instructors  in  Harvard  College.     Thirty-seven  pro- 
fessors and  instructors  offered  courses. 

The  plan  was  .so  successful  that  in  the  third  year  a 
corporation  was  formed  under  the  title  of  "  The  So- 
ciety for  the   Collegiate   Instruction   of  Women,"  to 


• 


RADCLIFFE  COLLEGE 


225 


carry  on  the  work.  It  became  popularly  known  as  thn 
Harvard  Annex.  By  1885  there  were  fifty-five  students, 
and  money  was  raised  to  buy  the  Fay  House  on  Garden 
Street,  close  to  the  Washington  Elm;  and  the  Annex 
I)rospered  greatly.  In  1894  there  were  two  hundred  and 
liity  students,  one  hundred  of  them  in  a  regular  under- 
trraduate  course  parallel  to  that  of  Harvard  College,  and 
leading,  like  it,  to  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  The 
Iilan  was  now  beyond  the  stage  of  experiment,  and  in 
1894  the  Society  for  the  Collegiate  Instruction  of 
Women  was  transformed,  by  an  act  of  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts,  into  Radcliffe  College,  with 
authority  to  confer  all  the  honors  and  degrees  conferred 
by  any  other  university  or  college  in  the  Commonwealth, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  President  and  Fellows 
of  Harvard  College.  Under  this  act,  the  President  and 
Fellows  of  Harvard  College  became  the  Board  of 
Visitors  of  Radcliffe  College,  and  the  President  of  Har- 
vard College  countersigns  its  diplomas  and  affixes  to 
them  the  seal  of  Harvard  University. 

The  government  of  Radcliffe  College  under  this  act 
consists  of  a  Council  of  ten  members  and  a  Board  of 
Associates  of  twenty-six  members,  with  an  Academic 
Hoard,  which  performs  the  duties  of  a  faculty,  con  st- 
ing for  the  most  part  of  professors  in  Harvard  Univer- 
sity. The  Chairman  of  the  Academic  Board  must  al- 
ways be  a  member  of  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences 
in  Harvard  University,  and  his  appointment  is  subject 
to  the  express  approval  of  the  Board  of  Visitors. 

The  instruction  now  offered  by  Radcliffe  College  is 
practically  identical,  within  its  limits,  with  that  offered 
by  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences  at  Harvard. 
Wherever  it  is  possible,  the  courses  are  given  hy  the 
same  men ;  where  that  is  not  possible,  the  choice  of  the 


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THE  (JKADIATK  SCHOOLS 


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instructor  at  KaddifTe  is  in  practico  subjrct  to  the  ap- 
proval of  tlu'  in.striu-tor  in  tlio  c-orrospouding  t-ourse  at 
Harvard.     Tlir  chief  difference  is  that  the  number  of 
courses  offered  at  Raddiffe  is  sniaHer  than  at  Harvard- 
in   the  year    l!n;M4  they   nunil)ered   ninety   full  and 
ninety  half  courses.     Of  the  teachers  iu  these  courses 
torty-iune    were    professors,    thirty-nine    associate    or 
assistant    professors,    and    forty-thic-    instructors,    lee- 
turers.  or  as.sistants  in  Harvard  I'niversitv.     The  work 
proviiled   for  graduate  students  at  Radcliffe  is  either 
given  separately,   or,   iu   a  good  many   eases   where  a 
course  is  small  in  numbers  at  Harvard,  it  is  opened  to 
competent  graduate  students  at  Raddiffe;  and  to  this 
extent   coeducation  prevails  at   Harvard.     In  1913-14 
there  were  forty-one  courses  ami  forty-two  half  courses 
in  Harvard  thus  opened  to  women. 

Tlie  equipment   of   Radcliffe   College   is   rapidly  in- 
creasing.    It    has   an  excellent    library   building   with 
thirty-two  thousand  volumes,  and  this  number  increases 
each  year.     Its  students  have  also  the  use  of  the  Har- 
vard Library.     It  has  already  laboratories  of  its  own 
lor  physics,  chemistry,  and  physiology.    In  other  scien- 
tific subjects  opportunities  for  work  are  provided  for 
Raddiffe  students  in  the  laboratories  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity.   For  recitations  it  has  rooms  in  the  Fav  House 
which  has  been  much  enlarged,  and  in  a  building  on 
Appian  ^^  ay.  which  was  formerly  a  school,  and  in  one 
or  two  houses  on  the  grounds,  which  have  been  in  part 
made  over.    Besides  these  buildings,  it  has  an  excellent 
gymnasium,   and   the   Elizabeth    Ca^^•   Agassi?   House 
which  was  built  for  the  use  of  the  students  and  has 
plea.sant  reception  rooms,  a  lunch-room,  rest-rooms   and 
a  theater.    The  College  has  already  made  a  good  begin- 
ning on  a  system  of  dormitories  on  land  about  one  third 


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RADCLIFFE  COLLEGE 


227 


of  a  mile  away  from  tlie  College  proper.  Here  Radcliffc 
(luiis  nearly  250,000  feet  of  land  and  has  already  four 
lialls  of  residence,  with  rooms  for  one  hundred  and 
sr\enty-two  students. 

It  was  at  first  thought  possible  that  the  ehi(>f  function 
(rf  such  a  college  as  Kadelilfe  might  be  to  provide  oppor- 
liiiiities  for  advanced  work  for  graduate  students,  but 
;is  time  has  gone  on,  it  has  beeome  clear  that  there  is 
;ils..  a  place  for  a  college  for  women  with  full  under- 
l-'r.uliiate  work.  There  continues  to  be  a  large  propor- 
tion of  graduate  .students,  and  an  even  larger  number 
of  si)eeial  students  who  are  admitted  under  stringent 
conditions  to  partial  work.  There  were  in  1912-13 
s. wnty-nine  graduate  students  and  one  hundred  and 
fittten  special  students,  as  again.st  three  hundred  and 
tilty-eight  regular  undergraduates.  The  graduate  stu- 
dents eome  from  a  great  variety  of  colleges  widely 
s.iittered  over  the  country.  RadclifTe  College  confers 
tlie  "graduate  degrees  of  A.M.  and  Ph.D. 

The  enilowment  of  the  College  is  growing  steadily 
iMid  now  amounts  to  about  .$000,000.  In  the  year 
1111-12  it  received  gifts  amounting  to  over  $170,000. 
Tliere  are  more  than  forty  scholarships  alreadv  estab- 
lislii'd. 

The  undergraduate  life  of  Radcliffe  fc.llows  its  own 
'o'lrse,  with  comparatively  little  contact  with  that  of 
IT.irvard  College.  There  are  always  sisters  and  brothers 
in  the  two  instituticms,  and  in  such  activities  as  the 
DtiiniHtie  Club,  and  occasionally  in  the  musical  clubs, 
students  from  Radcliffe  sometimes  take  part  with  those 
from  Harvard.  "What  intercourse  between  the  students 
of  the  two  institutions  there  is.  however,  is  private  and 
p.r<onal.  The  life  of  the  two  in  the  main  runs  along 
without  contact. 


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THE  GRADUATK  SCHOOLS 


Another  fnt.Tpriso  for  the  more  extended  use  of  the 
iustruetion  and  j.huit  of  the  Tniversity  is  to  be  found 
m  the  work  which  appears  in  tlie  Catalogue  under  the 
tith'  "  I'nivorsity  Extension  "  This  falls  under  three 
heads:  the  Summer  School  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  the 
University  Kxtcnsion  courses,  mainly  in  Boston,  and 
the  School  for  Social  Workers.  Since  1910  the  instruc- 
tion in  I'niv.Tsity  Extension  has  been  put  in  charge  of  a 
dean  and  administrative  board,  under  the  control  of 
the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  Under  this  organi- 
zation the  work  has  been  strengthened,  and  new  and 
interesting  experiments  are  being  tried. 

The  experiment  in  offering  instruction  to  persons 
other  than  regular  students  goes  back  to  1863,  to  ne 
University  Lectures,  which  have  been  already  described 
as  a  tentative  step  towards  graduate  instruction.  Be- 
tween 18G3  and  1872  about  twenty  courses  of  lectures 
were  given  each  year,  either  by  in.Mnbers  of  the  Harvard 
staff  or  by  emin.-nt  scholars  from  outside  the  Univer- 
sity, on  Saturdays  or  in  the  afternoons.  In  the  fall  of 
1871  there  were  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  persons  in 
attendance  on  the  lifteen  courses  then  in  progress  of 
Mhorn  sixty-five  were  men  and  ninety  were  women. 
Th^e  University  Lectures  were  abandoned,  however,  in 
1872;  for  they  had  developed  no  settled  function. 

In  the  summer  of  1871  Professor  Asa  Gray  an- 
nounced special  instruction  in  botany  during  the  vaca- 
tion for  teachers  and  for  students  who  desired  practice 
m  the  field.  This  was  the  real  beginning  of  the  Sum- 
mer School.  The  next  steps  followed  rapidly.  In  the 
summer  of  1873  Professor  Louis  Agassiz  opened  the 
Summer  School  of  Natural  History  on  Penikese  Island  ' 
in  Buzzard's  Bay.  In  1874  Professor  J.  P.  Cooke 
opened  summer  courses  in  chemistry  with  fifteen  stu- 


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THE  SUMMER  SCHOOL 


229 


Iiiits;  and  in  1S75  Professor  SlialiT  organized  the  first 
ri.urse  in  geology  at  Camp  Harvard,  Cumberland  Gap, 
l\ri)tuiky.  No  new  subjects  wore  added  to  this  list  until 
I'^'^T.  Up  to  this  time  there  was  no  regular  organiza- 
tion of  the  summer  courses. 

Ill  1887  President  Eliot  appointed  the  first  committee 
I-  liavo  charge  of  the  summer  courses,  with  Professor 
Shaler  as  its  chairman.  This  committee  was  not  a  com- 
mittee of  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  however, 
.111(1  it  was  not  until  18!>1  that  the  summer  courses  were 
loiiiially  recognized  by  that  P'aculty.  Tiicn  certain  of 
tiic  courses  given  in  the  Siunmer  School  were  accepted 
towards  the  requirement  for  d<'grces.  From  that  time  on 
tile  Summer  School  grew  rapidly.  The  attendance 
r  .ichcd  its  maximum  in  19():{,  when  the  National  Edu- 

•  ation  Association  met  in  Boston,  and  the  Summer 
School  had  1186  students.  The  normal  attendance 
siiitis  to  be  about  eight  hundred  students,  though  there 
is  some  fluctuation.  In  1900  twelve  hundred  Cuban 
tr.K  hers  were  brought  to  C.iiubridge  by  a  popular  sub- 
siiiption,  to  receive  instnic  lion  in  English  and  other 
subjects. 

At  present  about  half  -  f  the  students  at  the  School  are 
women,  and  the  greater  part  of  them  are  teachers. 
.\  number  of  the  summer  courses  are  accepted  as 
liiili  courses  towards  the  requirements  for  the  degrees 
oi   A.B.  and  S.B. ;  but  an  undergraduate  in  Harvard 

•  'ollego  is  not  allowed  to  count  in  this  way  more  than 
one  summer  coursp  each  year.  The  staff  of  the  Sum- 
imr  Selijol  is  largely  recruited  by  professors  from 
other  institutions,  most  of  whom  have  been  students  at 
lliirvard  and  hold  a  Harvard  degree. 

The  work  of  the  stud(  ■  ts  in  the  Summer  School  is 
e.i'-'er  and  enthusiastic.     Such  a  school  draws  from  the 


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most  aiiiliitious  (if  tlif  tt'iK-lit'rs,  and  they  ooinc  both  for 
r<t'r«'sliiiuiit  mill  for  iiiiprovt'iiictit.  Teaching  in  tlie 
Siiiiiinpr  School  is  ins[)iriuf,',  hut  at  the  same  time  ox- 
haustinp;  for  tlic  students  are  determined  to  get  the 
lust  drop  of  virtue  out  of  their  instructors.  The  value 
of  the  work  in  this,  as  is  other  summer  schools  through- 
out tlie  country,  is  unciucstioned. 

Uesiiles  the  rcjiular  instruction,  there  is  large  pro- 
vision made  for  lectures  and  reading,  and  for  excursions 
to  museums  and  to  places  of  historical  interest  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Cambridge.  Many  of  the  students 
come  from  the  West,  and  are  eager  to  see  all  that  can 
be  seen  of  an  ancient  part  of  the  country.  The  work 
is  for  tliem  a  change,  anil  they  are  eager  to  make  the 
experience  as  rich  as  possible. 

The  second  division  of  the  work  in  University  Ex- 
tension is  carried  on  by  Harvard  University  in  coopera- 
tion with  Tufts  College,  the  .Mas.sachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology.  Boston  College,  Boston  University,  the 
Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts.  Wellesley  College,  and 
Simmons  College.  Each  of  those  institutions  takes  part 
in  the  instruction,  and  the  courses  which  are  offered  are 
of  full  collegiate  grade,  and  correspond  closely  in  sub- 
ject-matter, methods  of  instruction,  examinations,  and 
scale  of  marking,  with  courses  regularly  offered  by  the 
several  institutions.  The  total  number  of  courses  of- 
fered by  all  the  institutions  combined  is  considerable. 
In  the  year  l!)i:]-14  there  were  five  of  these  courses 
offered  by  professors  and  instructors  from  Harvard. 

These  courses  in  University  Extension  are  in  part 
supported  by  the  Lowell  Institute,  a  large  foundation 
for  the  support  of  lectures  and  free  instruction,  estab- 
lished in  \S:V.)  under  the  will  of  John  Lowell,  Jr..  of 
which  President  Lowell  of  Harvard  is  at  present  the 


UNIVERSITY  KXTKNSION'  2:il 

tnistrc.    Thp  .-oursos  support.'.l  by  tlic  Lowell  Institut.- 
imluili'  tlip  ('Oiirscs  of  Uit'  TcHchcrs'  Srliool  ol"  Scionoc. 

The  lectures  in  these  riiiversity  Kxtension  courses 
are  chieHy  given  in  the  evening,  for  tiie  sake  of  i)ers(>ns 
ulio  are  working  through  the  day.  mu\  arc  given 
mostly  in  the  halls  of  those  of  the  cooperating  institu- 
tions which  are  in  Uoston. 

The  work  in  these  courses  and  in  the  Siiniiiier  School 
counts  towards  the  degree  of  Associate  in  Arts,  wliicli 
is  conferred  on  persons  who  have  tlone  a  total  amount 
of  college  work  equivalent  to  that  required  for  the  de- 
frno  of  A.D.,  with  the  excci)tion  of  the  entrance  exami- 
nations.  This  work  may  he  distributed  over  a  num- 
l)'T  of  years.  It  is  planned  particularly  for  the  benefit 
of  ti'achers  who  wish  to  imi)rovc  their  positions,  and  is 
practically  equivalent,  except  for  the  requirement  of 
residence,  to  the  Bachelor's  degree. 

The  Commission  of  the  eoiiperating  institutions  has 
been  in  operation  so  few  years  that  it  is  hard  to  say 
at  present  just  what  the  developments  a:e  likely  to  be. 
Tlie  number  of  students  in  the  three  years,  including 
1012-13,  in  which  the  Commission  has  been  organized, 
has  averaged  over  eight  hundred.  Obviously,  it  will 
need  some  years  of  experiment  before  the  scheme  can 
rt  acli  its  greatest  usefulness. 

Tiic  third  division  of  the  work  in  University  Exten- 
sion is  more  special.  The  School  for  Social  Workers 
was  established  in  Boston  in  1904  through  the  coopera- 
tion of  Harvard  University  and  Simmons  College,  for 
the  study  of  various  forms  of  social  service,  including 
charities,  correction,  and  neighborhood  work.  It  is 
particularly  intended  to  train  persons  to  become  officers 
of  institutions  or  agencies,  or  to  be  more  cflRcicnt  volun- 
teer workers. 


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232 


THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOLS 


The  usual  course  covers  a  year,  with  two -hot      -nr- 
cises  on  five  mornings  of  tiie  week.     The  work  in 

with  that  of  tlie  Department  of  Social  Ethics  dcr 
the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  advanced  students 
in  that  depa:  .iiient  may  enroll  also  in  the  School  for 
Social  Workers.  No  one  is  admitted  to  the  School  wlio 
cannot  satisfy  the  director  that  he  or  she  is  likely  to 
profit  by  its  opportunities.  Men  register  as  graduati; 
students,  or  extension  students,  of  Harvard  University ; 
women  register  in  Simmons  College. 


i'' 


IV 


•  »? 


EQUIPMENT  FOR  RESEARCH 


No  iiniv.Tsity  can  think  of  itself  as  founded  only 
to  !,'iv.-  instruction,  whether  to  undergraduates  or 
L-'iiHluates;  an  essential  part  of  the  idea  of  a  university 
1^  tliat  it  shall  be  advaneiiij?  human  knowledge.  In 
Ain.riea  this  is  largely  the  distinction  between  a  eol- 
I'ue  and  a  university.  The  former  more  or  less  ex- 
f'li'itly  limits  itself  to  giving  young  men  a  training 
^^Ih.Ii  wdl  prepare  them  for  their  work  in  life;  the 
lifter  must,  in  addition,  provide  the  training  for  some 
s|M(ialize<l  form  of  intellectual  activity,  and  it  must 
•ilso  make  provision  for  the  extension  of  human  knowl- 
-'lire  into  regions  as  y(.t  unexplored.  For  this  purpose, 
|t  nmst  have  profes.sors  who  have  not  onlv  the  leam- 
"iir  but  also  the  opportunity  for  research;  and  it  must 
^H|.ply  as  materials  and  equipment  great  collections  of 
'"'OKs,  laboratories,  and  museums. 

In  all  these  senses  of  the  word  Harvard  is  a  uni- 
v.is.ty.  Though  Harvard  College  is  its  heart,  and 
tl'-M-h  the  graduatp  sehools  fulfill  a  highly  important 
I'.irt  of  its  functions,  Harvard  College  and  the  graduate 
>'  hools  do  not  exhaust  the  activities  of  the  University. 

233 


]:i 


u 


■■■MM 


284 


P^Ql'IPMEXT  FOR  RESEARCH 


I  I 


'  t 


I.   i 


Partly  in  thfiii.  partly  outsidt?  of  them,  tliero  is  a  very 
larg.'  amount  of  activity  in  tlic  way  of  research,  and 
an  ample  product  in  advanced  scholarship  and  learned 
publications. 

It  is  a  difficult  subject  to  deal  with  in  such  a  work 
as  this,  for  learning  has  now  progressed  far  beyond 
the  ken  of  the  average  man.  Most  of  the  publicationg 
from  the  laboratories  and  museums  are  comprehensible 
only  to. a  small  audience  of  the  scholars  on  the  sub- 
jects. Nevertheless,  an  account  of  a  modern  university 
which  neglected  all  these  scientific  activities  would  be 
incomplete  and  inaccurate.  In  this  chapter  a  brief 
account  is  given,  first,  of  the  libraries  of  the  University, 
then,  of  the  scientific  establishments,  and  finally,  of  the 
several  museums  for  the  study  of  art  and  archivologj'. 

•Mention  will  I)e  made  of  those  establishments  only 
which  arc  maintaineil  for  investigation  and  research, 
and  in  which,  if  there  be  any  teaching,  it  is  incidental. 
The  line  is  .somewhat  hard  to  draw,  since  the  Wolcott 
Gii)bs  Memorial  Laboratory,  for  example,  was  limited 
to  research  by  its  givers;  but  the  research  always  in- 
cludes sonu^  advanced  instruction,  and  this  laboratory, 
moreover,  is  an  inseparable  part  of  the  general  equip- 
ment for  chemistry.  At  the  Gray  Herbarium,  on  the 
other  hand,  though  there  is  provision  for  some  instruc- 
tion of  undergraduates,  yet  the  main  purpose  of  the 
establishment  is  to  make  collections  and  to  study  them. 
As  in  all  other  universities,  each  of  the  scientific  depart- 
ments has  its  laboratories,  in  which  instruction  is  given 
to  undergraduates  and  graduates,  and  research  ia  car- 
ried on  by  graduate  students  and  by  the  Faculty  mem- 
bers of  the  department.  As  elsewhere,  too.  the  results 
of  this  research  are  an  essential  and  a  valuable  part  of 
the    work    of   the    department.      The    Department    of 


THE  hlDRARY 


233 


I'hysics  has  the  Jefferson  I'hysical  L.iltoratorv;  the  De- 
|.artment  of  Chemistry  has  Boylston  Hall,  lonj,'  siuci; 
(ujtgrown,  and  a  portion  of  Dane  Hall  into  whieli  il  has 
overHovvcd;  and  reecntly  the  Wolcott  Gibbs  Memorial 
Laboratory  and  the  T.  Jefferson  Coolid-^'e  Jr.  Labora- 
tory. The  Biological,  Botanieal,  .Mineralo-^'ieal,  and 
(udlogieal  Laboratories  have,  for  the  present,  quarters 
in  the  University  Museum. 

The  history  of  Harvard  University  Li!)rary  begins 
I^raetieally  with  the  history  of  Harvard  College.  siiie.> 
the  bcijucst  of  John  Harvard,  whieli  made  possible  the 
ininiediato  foundation  of  the  College,  included  his  books. 
The  College  was,  therefore,  i)r()vided  with  books  ev.-n 
lit  fore  it  had  a  building  in  whieh  to  house  them.  This 
beginning  of  the  Librarj'  comprised  over  :{()()  volumes; 
and  a  manu.script  catalogue  of  it  by  President  Dunster 
is  still  preserved,  though  all  the  books  but  one  were 
destroyed  in  the  burning  of  Harvard  Hall  in  17(i4. 
John  Harvard's  library  was  such  as  tniglil  have  l)ecn 
expected  to  be  owned  by  an  enlightened  Puritan  min- 
ister of  the  day.  The  theological  works,  whieh  in- 
iludod  Aquinas,  Beza,  Chrysostom.  Calvin,  and  Luther, 
composed  nearly  two  thirds  of  the  whole  eollection. 
Among  the  other  books  were  Bacon's  Essaj/s,  John 
IJobinson's  Essays,  Ileylin's  Gco/jraphi/,  and  Camden's 
!>•  mains,  the  chief  Greek  and  Latin  classics;  and— of  a 
somewhat  lighter  cast— Quarlcs's  I'orms,  Chapman's 
Homer,  roctantm  Florcs.  and  Tlifsaunis  Poeticus. 

This  gift  of  John  Harvard,  liowever.  was  soon  sup- 
plemented by  gifts  from  other  friends  of  the  College. 
In  1642  the  magistrates  gave  from  their  libraries  hooks 
to  the  value  of  £200.  In  Kio')  Sir  Kenelm  Digby  sent 
27  books  valued  at  £60.    In  1675  John  Lightfoot.  D.  D., 


V;  i 


'I. 


;!. 


U 


(; 


■    I 


i 


fi 


236 


EQUIPMENT  FOR  RESEARCH 


Vice-Chancellor  of  the  I'niversity  of  CjiinbridRp,  made 
a  bequest  of  his  whole  library,  itR'luilin«;  tlie  Tiirsunis, 
Talrauds,  Rabbins,  Polyglot  iJibk-,  and  valual)le  tracts 
relative  to  Oriental  literature,  (jibl)on  \vn)te  of  Dr. 
Lightfoot,  that  by  reading  sueli  works  he  had  Ix-coihl' 
almost  a  Rabbin  himself.  Three  years  later  Theophiliis 
Gale  bequeathed  his  library,  which  was  so  large  that  for 
many  years  it  is  said  to  have  formed  half  (»f  the  College 
collection.  In  l()f<2  Sir  John  .Maynard,  "  Ilis  Majesty '.s 
Serjeant  at  law,"  gave  eight  chests  of  books  valued  at 
£400.  By  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  tiie 
Library  ,vas  reckoned,  according  to  Cotton  Mather,  to 
be  "  the  best  furnished  that  can  be  shown  anywhere 
in  all  the  American  regions":  and  in  IfiS!)  Chief  Justice 
Sewall,  visiting  tlie  librar>'  of  v\)rpus  Christi  College, 
Cambridge,  thought  that  it  "  may  be  abouc  the  bigness 
of  Harvard." 

In  the  eighteenth  century  the  Library  continued  to 
grow,  largely  through  the  generous  gifts  of  friends  in 
England.  The  Hollis  family,  of  whom,  between  1722 
and  1804,  there  were  seven  among  the  benefactors  of 
the  College,  were  always  keenly  interested  in  the  Library 
and  they  sent  many  boxes  of  books.  The  first  Thomas 
Ilollis  sent  boxes  in  three  successive  years,  beginning 
in  1724.  His  nephew.  Thomas,  constantly  bought  books 
for  the  College  in  London,  choosing  them  with  the 
greatest  care  and  having  many  of  them  handsomely 
bound  before  dispatching  them.  He  and  his  uncle  kept 
close  track  of  affairs:  in  1725  the  elder  Ilollis  wrote: 
"  Your  library  is  reckond  here  to  be  ill  managed,  by 
the  account  I  liave  of  some  that  know  it,  you  want 
seats  to  sett  and  read,  and  chains  to  your  valluable 
books,  like  our  Hodleian  Library.  .  .  .  You  let  your 
books  be  taken  at  pleasure  home  to  ]Mens  houses,  and 


'     ♦ 


THE  LIMKARY 


2;J7 


iiiiiny  arc  lost."  And  latiT  tlu'  younfjcr  Ilollis  wrote: 
••  A  pultlick  lil)rary  oujrlit  to  !).■  riiniislK'd,  il"  tlicy  can, 
willi  Con.  as  wuU  as  I'ro. — tliat  students  may  read,  try, 
.l.idjr." 

Ucsidi's  tlio  Ilollisi's  other  Iti'nel'aetors  of  the  Library 
ill  tlie  ei{,'litcoutli  century  I)efort'  17(i4  were  Dr.  Isaac 
W.itts,  tlie  writer  of  liyiuns,  who  sent  a  number  of  books, 
i'  ludiufr  all  his  own  works  as  they  cam"  out;  John 
IJiivd  ol"  Jjondon,  JJishoi)  lierkeley,  who  sent  a  colloc- 
limi  mainly  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics;  and  the 
Society  for  rrop<ij,'atin},'  the  Gospel. 

The  fjrreat  catastroplie  in  the  history  of  the  Library 
was  the  dcstruetidii  of  practically  all  the  books  in  17G4, 
when  Harvard  Hall  was  burned  durinjjr  a  fierce  snow- 
storm, on  January  24.  The  most  {,'rievous  part  of  this 
loss  was  the  destruction  of  all  the  books  from  the  library 
el'  John  Harvard,  except  one,  which  was  i)robably  loaned 
I'lr  use  at  the  time.  The  response  of  the  friends  of  the 
CiMe^'e  to  the  catastrophe  was  irenerous,  and  in  number 
(if  books  the  J^ibrary  was  soon  practically  as  well  off  as 
it  had  Iteen  before.  Governor  licrnard  innncdiately 
iir<.'ed  the  rei)uildin«?  of  the  hall  by  the  colony,  since  it 
li;id  i)een  burned  while  the  House  of  Representatives 
w.is  making  use  of  it  on  account  of  an  epidemic  of 
.--iiiallpox  in  Boston.  He  himself  gave  more  than  800 
volumes,  besides  £28  in  money  which  had  been  collected 
under  his  authority.  The  Archbishop  of  York  and  the 
Arclibisho{)  of  Canterbury  each  .sent  a  generous  dona- 
tion: the  Edinburgh  Society  for  Promoting  Religious 
Knowledge  2')  volumes  and  otlu'r  books  to  the  value  of 
!0  p(mnds,  12  shillings;  the  Society  in  Scotland  for 
I'ropagating  Cliristian  Knowledge,  books  valued  at  £30; 
llie  Society  for  i'ropagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts, 
books  and  £100;  the  Society  for  I'ropagating  the  Gos- 


*, 


■f 


ti 


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ti 


rl 

Ui 

wim 

'■ 

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H 

If 

♦, 

■ 

1  ] 

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238 


E(il'il\Mi:XT  FOR  RESEARCH 


i  I 


I' 


pel  in  Now  EiiKliind,  41300,  with  which  1101  volumes 
were  boijpht.  The  J'rovince  of  New  Hampshire,  at  the 
reeomniendation  of  Governor  Went  worth,  contributed 
.t3U0.  witli  whii'h  743  volumes  wore  bought.  Thomas 
Hollis  came  forward  with  the  generosity  of  his  family 
and  gave  ^200  for  the  purchase  of  books,  and  in  the 
next  five  years  he  sent  over  41  cases  of  books  besides. 
John  Ilaneoek  of  Boston  c;  rricd  out  the  intention  of 
his  unele.  Thomas  Hancock,  whose  large  estate  he  had 
just  inherited,  and  .subseribt  d  £500,  with  an  additional 
gift  of  £54.  With  this  money  there  were  bought  1098 
volumes.  Besides  these  gifts  there  were  many  others; 
and  by  llDi)  the  collection  had  grown  to  12,000  volumes, 
and  a  catalogue  was  printed. 

After  the  Revolution  the  steady  flow  of  books  con- 
tinued, including  many  valuable  ones  from  Granville 
Sharp  of  London  and  John  Erskine  of  Edinburgh.  In 
18U4  came  the  last  of  the  gifts  of  the  Hollis  family. 
Thomas  Brand  Hollis,  who  had  inherited  the  fortune 
of  the  younger  Thomas  and  assumed  his  name,  and  had 
made  frequent  gifts  of  books  during  his  life,  bequeathed 
to  the  College  £100  to  be  laid  out  in  Greek  and  Latin 
classics. 

The  nineteenth  century  carried  on  the  same  beneficent 
progress  on  a  constantly  enlarging  scale,  and  books  in 
modern  foreign  languages  appear  more  frequently. 
John  Quiney  Adaiiis  made  a  gift  of  French  books,  and 
in  1811,  13  volumes  of  Russian  books.  In  1818  the 
Library-  made  a  strong  beginning  on  its  great  collection 
ot  books  on  American  history  through  the  gift  from 
Israel  Thorndike  in  1818  of  the  books  collected  by 
Professor  Ebeling  of  Hamburg.  This  gift,  which  is  one 
of  the  most  important  in  the  whole  history  of  the 
Library,  contained  3200  volumes  and  10,000  maps.     It 


THE  LIBRARY 


239 


was  strengthened  five  years  later,  when  Samuel  A. 
Eliot  gave  the  books  on  American  history  collected  by 
1).  B.  Warden,  who  was  long  American  consul  at  Paris, 
iucluding  1200  volumes  and  many  maps.  In  1819 
Coethe  sent  39  volumes  of  his  own  works. 

Through  the  middle  of  the  century  the  Librarj'  was 
enriched  by  constant  gifts  from  Charles  Sumner,  which 
continued  until  his  death  in  1874,  and  aggregated  1300 
volumes  and  from  fifteen  to  twenty  thousand  pamphlets. 
At  his  death  lie  bequeathed  his  library  of  3750  volumes, 
many  of  which  were  rare  editions,  besides  his  eollec- 
tiou  of  autographs,  some  of  which  will  be  mentioned 
later.     The  collection  of  books  on  America  was  again 
increased,  in  1844,  by  the  bequest  of  $3000  from  William 
Trescott  of  Boston,  and  by  the  gift  next  year  of  a  large 
collection  of  tracts  and  pamphlets,  mainly  relating  to 
America,  from  Obadiah  Rich  of  London.    In  1852  came 
a  subscription  of  $1100  raised  by  Professor  Francis  J. 
Child  for  the  improvement  of  the  collections  in  English 
poetry.     In  1859  William  H.  Prcscott  bequeathed  282 
volumes  and  five  volumes  of  manuscript  which  he  had 
used  in  the   preparation  of  his  Ferdinand   and  ha- 
IcUa.    In  1861  James  Russell  Lowell  gave  194  volumes. 
Hi'  was  constantly  buying  books  which  he  intended  for 
Iho  Library;  and  in  a  letter  from  Spain  in  1878  he 
v.rote:    "I   buy   mainly   with   a   view   to   the    College 
Library,   whither  they  will  go  when   I   am    in   Mount 
Auburn,  with  so  much  undone  that  I  might  have  done." 
On  his  return   from  Spain   in   1885  he  brought  some 
7(J0  valuable  works  for  the  Library,  and  when  be  died, 
in  1891,  he  provided  that  the  Library  should  have  any 
of  his  books  a  copy  of  which  it  did  not  already  possess. 
Tender  this  bequest  it   received  827   volumes  and  539 
pamphlets.     A  portion  of  the  remaining  » ooks   were 


f. 
I 

t 


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LMO 


EQflPMFAT  FOR  nF'.SHAIJCII 


pun  iiascd  hy  subsf-riptiDn  in  1000,  and  now  Itirm  tlm 
main  part  of  the  Lowell  ^k'niorial  Lil)rary  of  Romance 
Literature. 

Amonj;  other  f,'r''»t  ffifts  of  books  toward  the  latter 
part  of  the  century  were  tin-  IxMiucst  in  1875  of  tlio 
library  of  James  Walker,  I'nsidcnt  of  the  ColleRo, 
amountin},'  to  'J400  voliiirns  and  :500  pamphlets;  in 
1870  the  bcqu!st  of  Martyn  P.iine.  M.I).,  of  NVw  York, 
of  his  library  eontainin<»  :{0fl7  volumes  and  11. 'i  pam- 
phlets, in  meninry  of  his  son  Rolx  it  Tronp  Paine.  One 
of  the  most  valued  <;ifts  of  the  period  was  the  bequest 
of  41S  vnlunies  by  Thomas  Carlyle,  which  he  made  in 
the  following;  terms: — 

Ilavinfr  with  Kood  reason,  ever  sinee  my  first  appear- 
aneo  in  Literature,  a  variety  of  kind  feelincs.  ol)lifia- 
tions  and  rejiards  toward  New  KuKland.  and  indeed 
lontr  before  that  a  hearty  },'<tod  will,  real  and  steady, 
which  still  continues,  to  America  at  lar<re.  and  recotr- 
nisiuj;  with  gratitude  how  much  of  friendliness,  of 
actually  credible  human  love.  I  have  had  from  that 
Country,  and  what  iiiiiii(>nsities  of  worth  and  capability 
I  believe  and  partly  know  to  be  Iodised,  especially  in 
the  silent  classes  there.  I  have  now  after  due  consulta- 
tion as  to  the  fi'asibilities.  the  cxcusabilities  of  it,  de- 
cided to  fulfil  a  fond  notion  thai  has  been  hoverin"  in 
my  mind  tlics-e  many  years;  and  I  do  llurefore  hereby 
bequeath  the  Iiooks  (whatever  of  them  I  could  not  bor- 
row, but  had  to  liuy  and  <ratiier.  lliat  is,  in  j^enerai 
whatever  of  them  are  still  here)  which  I  used  in  writinjj 
on  Cromwell  and  Friediieh  and  whieh  shall  be  accurately 
searche<l  for.  and  |)arte(l  from  my  other  books,  to  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  Colleire.  City  of 
Cambridge,  State  o['  .Massaehu'^ctts,  as  a  poor  testimony 
of  my  resi>ect  for  that  alma  mater  of  so  many  of  my 
transatlantic  friinds.  and  a  token  of  the  feelinirs  above 
indieated  towards  the  (ireat  Country  of  which  Harvard 
is  the  chief  school. 


THE  LIHHAKY 


241 


Tlic  interest  of  tliese  volumes  is  very  greatly  increased 
\>y  the  comments  wliieh  Carlyle  had  written  freely  on 
tlir  margins  of  the  iwoks  as  he  read  them.  Some  ex- 
;im|)les  of  these  are  given  hiter. 

From  the  library  of  Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow, 
iif  one  time  Professor  of  lielles  Lettres,  his  family  made 
f-'ifts  amounting  to  'MM  volumes  and  KiOO  pamphlets, 
liirgely  composed  of  American  poetry,  including  many 
works  presented  by  the  authors  to  Longfellow. 

During  the  la.st  generation  the  gifts  of  books  have 
increased  in  numi)er  and  in  importance.  Professor 
A.  C.  Coolidge,  now  Director  of  the  Tniversity  Lil)rary, 
lias  been  a  constant  giver,  and  his  gifts  have  been 
^'uided  by  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  condition  and 
needs  of  the  Library.  Among  them  is  a  'arge  collection 
ef  Slavic  history  and  literature  and  a  notable  collection 
(/f  books  in  Slovak.  The  gift  of  the  great  Riant  ed- 
it etion  of  books  on  the  Ottoman  Empire,  to  which  he 
contributed,  and  to  which  he  has  since  added,  gives  the 
Library  what  is  probably  the  largest  collection  of  books 
in  the  world  on  this  important  subject.  In  1902  he 
promised  to  give  1(»,()U0  volumes  on  German  historj-, 
iM  be  called  the  Ilohenzollem  Collection,  in  honor  of 
llic  visit  of  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia  to  the  University, 
.March  6,  1902.  This  collection,  with  the  books  already 
owned,  puts  the  Harvard  Library  on  a  level  with  all 
but  two  or  three  of  the  best  libraries  in  Germany  on 
tiiis  subject.  In  1904  Professor  Coolidge  gave  the 
library  of  Konrad  von  Maurcr  of  Munich,  which  in- 
cluded 2GC0  volumes  and  2911  pamphlets  on  Scandi- 
navian history  and  literature,  besides  the  IJOOO  volumes 
which  went  into  the  Iloheiizollern  Collection.  In  1910 
lie  gave  a  collection  of  books,  pamphh'ts,  newspapers, 
and  broadsides  numbering  2340  pieces,  relating  to  the 


<■; 


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1  f  • 


>'■; 


242 


EQl'IPMENT  FOR  RESEARCH 


Fn-mh  Revolution  and  the  French  Commune.  In  1D09, 
with  Chircnce  L.  Hay,  he  bought  the  library  of  ovor 
4000  volumes  of  Louis  Montt,  Librarian  of  the  National 
Librar>'  of  Chile,  a  collection  especially  rich  in  works 
on  Chilean  history  and  politics,  and  on  Peru  and  tho 
Argentine  Republic.  Besides  these  larger  gifts,  Pro- 
fessor Coolidge  has  given  constantly  for  the  purchase 
of  books  in  various  other  directions. 

Among  other  gifts  in  this  period  was  the  notable  col- 
bction  of  1014  volumes  and  2fif)  pamphlets  relating  to 
angling,    fishes,   and    fisheries,    from   John   Bartlett   of 
CHmbridge,  in  1892,  and  in  the  next  year  his  collection 
of  254  volumes  and  22  pamphlets  relating  to  proverbs, 
emblems,  and  the  Dance  of  Death.     In   1894  Francis 
Parkman,  the  historian,  bequeathed  2502  volumes,  2000 
pamphlets,  and  102  maps  from  his  librarj'.    In  1908  the 
Parkman   Memorial   Committee  made  a  gift  of  $5950, 
"  the  income  only  of  which  is  to  be  used  for  the  pur- 
chase of  books  relating  to  Canada  for  the  college  library, 
to  build  up  a  Parkman  Memorial  collection  relating  to 
Canadian   history."     At  different  times  between   1898 
and   1907  there  were  received  from  the  estate  of  Pro- 
fessor E.  W.   Gumey  7750  volumes  from   his  private 
library.     In  1898  Morris  and  James  Loeb  of  New  York 
and  Profes.sor  Leo  Wiener  gave  a  collection  of  Judco- 
German  books  printed  both  in  Europe  and  in  America. 
In  1900,  the  J.  C.  Ayer  Company  of  Lowell  gave  the 
library  of  Alphonse  Marsigny.  consisting  of  549  volumes 
and  48  pamphlets.    In  the  same  year  Henry  C.  Warren 
bequeathed   2.10   volumes  and   116   pamphlets,   mainly 
in  Sanskrit,  besides  300  volumes  to  the  Sanskrit  class- 
room library.     In  190.3,  Mr.  John  Drew  of  New  York 
gave  .1<1000  for  the  purchase  of  the  dramatic  library  of 
Robert  W.  Lowe  of  London,  consisting  of  789  volumes 


THE  LIBRARY 


243 


iiiid  47  pamphlets.     In  tlif  same  yenr  Mr.  .lames  Ilazen 
lly»le  of  New  York  and  Paris  bouRlit,  for  the  Lhrary, 
a  portion  of  the  eoUeetion  of  the  late  Professor  Fordi- 
iiand   liocher,  oomprisinB  '-i'-^G  volumes  nnd  H')."!  pnm- 
I)lilets  on  Moli^re,  246  volumes  nnd  91    pamphlets  on 
M.intaigne,  and  352  volumes  of  the  Fren.ji  dramatists 
iitntemporary    with   Moliere.     In   190;')   the   library   of 
Professor  Charles  Eliot  Norton,  wliieh  is  partieularly 
lih  in  early  printed   books,  illustrated   books  of  the 
lilfeonth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  and  presentation  copies 
t'ldin  English  and  Americjiii  authors  of  the  nineteenth 
•  etitury,  was  purchased  by  a  subscription  among  bis 
friends  and  given  to  the  Library.     The  books  were  to 
remain  in  his  possession  during  his  life  and  the  sur- 
plus of  the  fund  above  the  purchase  price  was  to  be 
used  as  a  book-fund  the  special  employment  of  which 
he  should  designate.    Professor  Norton  immediately  .sent 
a  large  number  of  the  more  precious  books  to  the  Library, 
in  order  that  they  should  be  safer  than  in  his  own  wooden 
house;  and  he  assigned  the  income  of  the  fund  to  the 
I'lirchase  of  choice  and  rare  books. 

Ill  1908  the  Library  received  the  largest  single  gift  of 
iHioks  in  its  historj',  consisting  of  the  library  of  the  late 
Kichard  Ashurst  Bowie  of  Philadelphia,  which  was 
t,'iven  by  Mrs.  Edward  D,  Brandegec  in  memory  of  her 
grandfather,  William  Fletcher  Weld.  This  library  con- 
fained  over  11,800  volumes  and  included  3600  editions 
cf  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics  not  already  in  the  Library, 
and  433  incunabula.  In  1910  three  valuable  acquisitions 
wore  received :  bequests  from  two  professors  and  a  gift 
from  a  third.  From  the  estate  of  Professor  James  B. 
(Jroenough,  came  1027  volumes  and  400  pamphlets;  from 
tlie  estate  of  Professor  Charles  Gross.  500  volumes  and 
522  pamphlets;  and  Professor  Morris  JL  Morgan  gave 


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his    wonderfully    ricli    Pcrsius    oollootion,    eomprisins 
about  20.")  editions  and  2V,l  translations  of  tlio  poet,       .h 
125  eritieal  papers  and  illustrative  works.     This  collec- 
tion has  been  increased  since  Professor  ^lorpan's  death 
by  his  friend,  Daniel  B.  Fearing  of  Newport,  R.  I.     In 
1911  the  first  installment  of  a  series  of  S'fts  of  $1000 
a  year  was  made,  to  form  the  Perkins  Memorial  Collec- 
tion on  the  history  of  the  Wi-stern  states,  in  menior\- 
of  Charles   Elliott  Perkins,  formerly   President  of  the 
Chicajjo,  Purlington,  and  (^lincy  Railroad.    This  collec- 
tion will  be  increa.sed  tlirouj^'h  tb.'  activities  of  the  re- 
cently   established    Harvard    Commission    on    Western 
History,  which  aims  to  bring  together  a  great  collection 
of  books,  pamphlets,  newspapers,  and  documentary  ma- 
terial for  the  study  of  tiie  devcbipment  of  the  West.    In 
the  same  year  Francis  Cnbot  Lowell  of  Boston,  a  Fellow 
of  the  Cori)oration,  bciiueatlied  to  the  Library  his  eol- 
Icction  of  books  on  Jeanne  d'Arc,  consisting  of  4:1S  vol- 
umes and  58  pamphlets;  and  the  ni'xt  year  his  widow 
established  a  fund  of  $10,000  for  the  increase  of  this 
collection   and   for  the   purchase  of   books   on   related 
subjects. 

These  gifts  are  only  the  more  important  among  those 
enumerated  in  the  pamphlet  containing  descriptive  and 
historical  notes  on  the  Library  of  the  University.  The 
stream  of  books  is  constant,  generous,  and  increasing  in 
number.  Special  collections  have  been  built  np  by  com- 
paratively moderate  annual  gifts  continued  through  a 
number  of  years;  in  this  way  the  Library  has  acquired 
valuable  collections  on  China  and  the  Chinese,  on  Swit- 
zerland, on  Napoleon,  on  Cerman  dramatic  literature,  on 
London,  and  a  very  extensive  collection  of  books  relating 
to  the  Catacombs  and  .arly  Christian  anti<|uities;  and 
there  are  other  collections  on  smaller  subjects. 


1   I 


THE  LIBRARY 


245 


The  strength  of  the  Library  for  its  main  purpose  of 
advancing  scholarsliip  is  largely  due  to  the  devoted 
labors  of  many  professors,  who  have  given  tlieir  time 
and  thought  to  the  ordering  of  books  in  their  special  sub- 
jects. To  speak  only  of  three  in  the  last  generation,— 
Professor  Francis  James  Child,  Professor  Charles  Eliot 
Norton,  and  Professor  Henry  Warren  Torrey,  each  in 
his  own  field,  has  laid  the  foundation  of  collections  of 
priceless  worth  to  the  student.  To-day  many  members 
of  the  Faculty  feel  this  obligation  and  are  of  constant 
aid  to  the  staff  of  the  Library  in  making  it  possible  to 
bring  collections  in  special  fields  nearer  to  completeness. 

The  aim  of  the  librarians  of  the  Library  Council 
has  been  to  make  the  Library  as  complete  a  working 
laboratory  for  scholars,  especially  in  the  humanities,  as 
the  resources  of  the  University  would  allow.  They  have 
held  that  there  must  be  a  few  libraries  in  the  country 
which  should  aim  at  completeness  in  certain  departments, 
and  they  have  accordingly  received  freely  many  books 
which  perhaps  may  not  be  looked  at  once  in  fifty  years. 
For  somc'.ody,  however,  who  is  doing  definite  work  in 
the  subjects  of  which  they  treat,  these  books  may  make 
the  difference  between  exhaustive  knowledge  of  the  sub- 
ject and  a  knowledge  which  falls  short  of  exhaustiveness. 
In  certain  fields,  especially  in  the  rare  books  sou^'lit 
after  by  book-collectors,  the  Library  has  to  trust  to 
jrifts  and  bequests.  In  certain  other  fields  it  recognizes 
that  other  libraries  already  have  such  great  collections 
that  competition  would  be  a  waste ;  but  with  these  limi- 
tations, the  ambition  of  the  Library  has  almost  no 
bounds. 

The  resources  of  the  Library,  however,  are  by  no 
means  limited  to  the  books  in  the  main  library  building. 
For  the  special  use  of  the  students  under  the  Faculty  of 


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Arts  and  Sciences  there  are  32  special  reference  libraries, 
all  of  which  are  in  other  buildinjjs.     Some  of  these  arc 
special  technical  libraries,  as  those  in  the  chemical  and 
physical  laboratories,  the  six  libraries  of  the  University 
Museum,  and  the  two  engineering  libraries  in  the  Rotch 
Laboratojy  and  in  Pierce  Hall.    Besides  these,  howeve", 
many  of  the  departments  have  special  libraries  which 
supplement   the   main   collections    bv   providing   other 
copies  of  much-used  books,  and  also  by  putting  before 
students   a   tolerably   eomi>U'te   collection   of  the  most 
important  works  on  their  subject.    The  Classical  Library 
in  Harvard  Hall  has  nearly  5000  boc'  s.     The  History 
Library  in  the  same  building  has  nearly  7000,  and  the 
Library  of  Economics,  which  is  housed  with  the  History 
Library,  has  over  1800.     The  Library  of  Social  Ethics 
in  Emerson  Hall  has  3900  volumes,  and  in  the  same 
building  is  the  Robbins  Library  of  Philosophy  and  the 
Library  of  the  Psychological  Laboratory'  with  more  than 
4500  volumes.     In  the  Warren  House,  which  was  be- 
queathed to  the  University  I)y  Henry  C.  Warren,  are  the 
Child  Memorial  Library  of  English  books,  the  Lowell 
Memorial  Library  of  books  in  Romance  literature,  and 
the  German,  French,  and  Sanskrit  libraries.     Of  these 
the  Child  Memorial  Library  is  supported  by  a  fund  of 
over  $11,000  which  was  raised  by  subscription  soon  after 
the  death  of  Professor  Francis  James  Child,  the  first 
Professor    of    English    at   Harvard    I'niversity.      This 
library  now  has  over  5000  volumes  stored  in  Warren 
House,  and  has  besides  a  considerable  number  of  rare 
and   valuable   books   and   manuscripts   which    are   de- 
posited in  the  main  Library,  since  Warren  House  is  not 
fireproof.     The  Lowell  Memorial  Librarv   of  books   in 
Romance   Literature   includes   about   IGOO  volumes,   of 
which  about  half  came  from  James  Russell  Lowell's 


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2-47 


library,  and  were  bought  by  a  general  subscription  in 
1900.  A  number  of  books  from  Professor  Norton's 
library  have  recently  with  great  appropriateness  been 
added  to  this  collection.  The  libraries  of  the  German 
Department  and  of  the  French  Department  in  the  same 
building  number  respectively  1500  and  2600  volumes. 
Upstairs  is  the  Sanskrit  Librarj',  which  has  over  1000 
volumes.  A  library  of  books  on  education  in  L'^wrcnce 
Hall  numbers  7100  volumes ;  and  the  reference  works  in 
the  Fogg  Museum  number  1300  volumes.  The  collec- 
tion on  architecture  and  landscape  architecture  in 
Robinson  Hall,  which  supplements  the  collections 
on  these  subjects  in  the  main  Library,  now  has  3000 
volumes.  Altogether  there  are  71,000  volumes  in  these 
special  reference  libraries,  which  are  as  a  whole  freely 
open  to  students  in  the  various  subjects. 

Besides  these  collections  for  the  use  of  students  under 
the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  there  are  also  the 
special  libraries  of  the  other  departments  of  the  Uni- 
versity. Of  these  the  largest  is  the  librarj-  of  the  Law 
School,  which  now  has  over  148,000  volumes  and  17,000 
pamphlets.  Two  recent  acquisitions  have  been  in  them- 
selves notable  enough  to  make  this  library  famous. 
The  first  was  the  great  Olivart  collection  on  Inter- 
national Law,  brought  together  by  the  Marquis  Olivart 
of  Madrid,  and  bought  for  the  Law  School  in  1911. 
Its  extent  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  the  cata- 
logue of  this  Librarj^  is  referred  to  in  treatises  on 
International  Law  as  the  standard  bibliography  of  the 
subject.  It  is  rich  in  original  documents,  some  of  them 
unique,  and  in  documents  and  pamphlets  relatinc;  to  the 
Central  and  South  American  countries,  and  to  the 
Spanish-American  War  of  1898.  It  has  a  large  amount 
cf  material  of   tUe  highest   value  to   historians.     In 


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248 


EQUIPMENT  FOR  RESEARCH 


1913  the  Law  School  Librarj'  bought  the  books  and 
mauuscripts  rohiting  to  law  from  the  library  of  the 
late  George  Dunn  of  ^laidenhead,  England.  The  manu- 
scripts run  back  to  the  thirteenth  century,  and  there 
are  a  number  of  incunabula.  In  all  there  are  at  least 
500  s(^parate  works  dating  before  1600. 

The  Divinity  School  Library,  with  40,000  books  and 
11,000  pamphlets,  has  just  been  combined  with  the 
library  of  the  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  with  over 
62,000  volumes  and  37,000  pamphlets,  and  the  combined 
libraries  are  now  housed  together  in  the  new  building  of 
thj  Andover  Semiuarj'.  The  two  collections  are  very 
rich  in  all  departments  of  Biblical  study,  in  his- 
torical, systematic,  and  practical  theology,  and  in  mis- 
sionary literature  of  every  kind. 

Each  of  the  scientific  establishments  and  laboratories 
has  its  own  library.  At  the  Museum  of  Comparative 
Zoology  there  are  about  50,000  volumes  and  over 
45,000  pamphlets.  These  books  are  ehietly  on  zoology, 
paheontology,  and  geology.  In  the  Peabody  ]\Iuseum, 
in  the  other  wing  of  the  quadrangle,  there  is  a  library  of 
4800  volumes  and  nearly  5000  pamphlets  on  anthropo- 
logical and  ethnological  subjects.  This  library  has  all 
the  leading  anthropological  journals  and  long  sets  of 
the  proceedings  and  reports  of  societies  and  museums. 
There  are  several  collections  on  botany.  At  the  Gray 
Herbarium  is  an  admirable  reference  library  for  the 
study  of  the  classification,  morphology,  and  geographi- 
cal distribution  of  plants,  the  foundation  of  which  was 
the  private  library  of  Professor  Asa  Gray.  It  has  now 
over  13.000  volumes  and  10,000  pamphlets.  Besides  the 
books,  there  is  a  collection,  given  by  Mrs.  Gray,  of  more 
than  1100  autograph  manuscripts  of  distinguished 
botanists  from  the  sixteenth  to  the  nineteenth  centuries. 


THE  DEPARTMENT  LIBRARIES 


249 


The  botanical  laboratory  in  the  University  Museum  has 
a  small  working  collection,  of  books  and  pamphlets,  and 
the  laboratory  of  cryptogamic  botany  has  also  a  collec- 
tion for  working  purposes.  The  library  of  the  Arnold 
Arboretum,  which  has  now  over  26,000  volumes  and 
more  than  6500  pamphlets,  is  thought  to  be  the  most 
complete  collection  now  in  existence  on  trees  and  shrubs. 
The  greater  part  has  been  gathered  at  the  expense  of 
Professor  Charles  S.  Sargent,  the  Director  of  the 
Arboretum. 

The  library  of  the  Medical  School  has  more  than 
18,000  volumes  and  40,000  pamphlets,  besides  200 
periodicals  which  are  regularly  received.  It  has  not 
been  the  purpose  of  the  Medical  School  to  form  a  very 
extensive  collection  of  books  on  medical  subjects,  for  a 
short  distance  away  is  the  Boston  IMedical  Library,  con- 
taining about  69,000  volumes  and  38,000  pamphlets. 
Here  there  are  also  nearly  700  current  periodicals  on 
file.  In  practice  it  is  looked  on  as  part  of  the  resources 
of  the  School. 

Taking  all  the  books  in  all  the  libraries  of  the  Uni- 
versity together,  in  1913,  there  were  1,020,026  volumes 
and  625,976  pamphlets,  making,  with  the  Andover  col- 
lections, a  total  number  of  1,747,011  books  and  pam- 
phlets. 

This  great  accumulation  of  books  is  the  raw  material 
in  which  scholarship  must  work,  and  it  is  the  true 
laboratory  for  many  of  the  great  fields  of  learning, 
such  as  history,  liierature,  economies,  and  philosophy. 
The  ultimate  facts  in  many  fields  of  human  activity  are 
to  be  gathered  only  through  access  to  a  great  collection 
like  this.  There  are  many  books  in  such  a  collection 
which  are  rarely  looked  at,  for  it  is  only  the  occasional 
scholar  who  needs  to  go  to  them.     For  him  they  are 


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essential,  and  without  tliem  he  cannot  say  tlic  last  word 
that  is  to  be  said  on  a  subject.  In  the  end  it  is  the 
work  which  does  say  the  last  word  which  is  the  essential 
work,  and  to  [)roduce  such  works  scholars  must  have 
groat  numbers  of  books,  many  of  which  will  be  rarely 
used,  and  which  for  all  other  purposes  may  seem 
worthless. 

The  Library  is  very  strong  for  students  of  history 
and  of  literature.  Some  of  its  collections,  such  as  those 
on  the  Ottoman  Empire  and  on  Folk  Lore,  arc  probably 
unequaled.  Of  material  for  study  in  European  history, 
especially  that  of  Germany  and  of  France,  the  Library 
has,  it  is  thought,  the  largest  collection  in  this  country. 
The  collections  on  American  history  were  begun,  as  has 
been  noted,  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
and  have  been  constantly  added  to,  and  the  collection 
of  maps  is  very  extensive. 

Besides  these  and  many  other  collections  of  great 
scholarly  richness,  the  Library  has  many  works  of  spe- 
cial and  sentimental  interest.  Charles  Sumner,  who  was 
a  notable  book-collector,  besides  giving  many  books  in 
his  lifetime,  bequeathed  his  own  books  to  the  Library 
in  1874.  Among  them  are  many  books  in  beautiful 
bindings  and  many  with  associations.  They  include  a 
copy  of  Surrey's  poems  from  Horace  Walpole's  library; 
Pastor  Fido,  owned  by  Congreve ;  a  first  edition  of  Mil- 
ton's  Paradise  Lost,  and  Jlilton's  own  copy  of  Pindar, 
with  frequent  manuscript  notes.  There  is,  also,  an 
album  once  owned  by  a  Neapolitan  nobleman,  in  which 
Milton  has  inserted  two  lines  from  Comus,  and  a  Latin 
motto,  Avith  his  signature.  Besides  the.se  there  is  Pope's 
Essay  on  Man,  1783,  with  his  own  corrections,  and  a 
Bible  with  the  autograph  of  John  Bunyan  on  the  title- 
page  of  the  New  Testament. 


I'' 


THE  LIBRARY 


251 


Another    notablf    ('ollection    wns    that    of    Professor 
Norton.     He   had    bought   many   early    printed  books, 
especially  in  Italian,  with  woodcut  engravings,  and  had 
received  gifts  of  books  from  many  of  his  friends  and 
correspondents,  including  almost  all  the  principal  Eng- 
lish and  American  authors  of  tht  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,   with  autograph   inscriptions.     Several 
early    Americana,    including    the    Boston    edition    of 
Mather's  Woiidcrs  of  the  Invisible  World,  almost  unique, 
had  come  down  to  him  by  inheritance  from  Professor 
Wiggleswortl".     He  had  also  early  editions  of  Words- 
worth and  Shelley ;  a  remarkable  collection  of  early  edi- 
tions of  John  Donne,  and  a  number  of  medieval  manu- 
scripts.   One  special  treasure  of  his  library— a  gift  from 
John  Ruskin— was  the  copy  of  the  Systcma  Natum  of 
Linnams,   once  owned  by  the  poet  Thomas  Gray,  in 
whick  the  latter  had  made  on  the  margins  and  on  pages 
interleaved,   delicate  pen-and-ink  drawings  of  the   in- 
sects and  birds. 

Among  the  interesting  manuscripts  in  the  Library  is 
that  of  the  Boundabout  Papers,— the  gift  of  Sir  Leslie 
Stephen,— in  Thackeray's  neat,  compact  handwriting, 
■written  largely  on  Athenaeum  Club  paper,  though  in  a 
few  cases  Thackeray  pressed  into  use  the  backs  of 
envelopes  and  other  scraps.  Another  manuscript  is  a 
note-book  into  which  Shelley  and  his  wife  had  copied 

his  poems. 

There  is  also  a  considerable  collection  of  letters  writ- 
ten to  James  Russell  Lowell,  which  were  given  to  the 
Library  by  Professor  Norton,  his  literary  executor,— 
among  them  a  series  from  Edgar  Allan  Poe.  There  are 
also  a  few  manuscripts  by  Longfellow,  Holmes,  Haw- 
thome,  and  other  American  authors. 

Not  the  least  interesting  among  the  treasures  of  the 


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KQl'IPMi:XT  FOR  RESEARCH 


Library  are  the  Carlylc  volumes  mentioned  above,  be- 
cause of  the  notes  which  Carlyle  was  in  the  habit  of  writ- 
ing  in  the  mar},'ins  of  liis  books.  In  a  note,  for  example, 
on  the  margin  of  the  Eikon  Baaili/cv,  Carlyle  wrote  in 
pencil:  "  shewing  him  (had  it  been  he  which  palpably 
it  was  not)  to  have  been  the  most  perfect  Pharisee,  inane 
Canter,  and  shovel-hattcd  Quack  that  ever  went  about  in 
clear-starched  surplice  and  formula!— Do  but  read  it." 
And  two  notes  to  Mirabeau's  (Euvres:  "  No  Government 
ever  had  a  spy  of  such  ability.  What  a  sight  (for 
France  and  for  himself)— that  of  such  a  man  employed 
as  a  'spy,'  A  truly  grand  power  of  insight  is  visible  in 
this  poor  nook,— the  only  really  genial  Book  (such  as 
it  is!)  I  have  ever  read  on  Prussia.  Dim  vacant  twi- 
light all  the  other,  this  blazes  like  noonday.  Poor  Mira- 
beau!  "  And  on  page  246:  "  A  dreadfully  ugly  fellow; 
and  such  a  flash  of  insight,  such  a  fire  of  faculty  in  him 
withal ;— enough  to  swallow  a  poor  official  man,  or  con- 
sume him  to  ashes." 

The  interest  and  the  prestige  of  the  Library  will  be 
very  greatly  increased  when  the  Widener  books  left 
by  Harry  Elkins  Widener  are  received.  Though  he  was 
only  five  years  out  of  college,  he  had  already  amassed 
a  library  of  the  highest  distinction,  and  one  in  which 
there  are  extraordinarily  few  books  of  little  value.  It 
is  rare,  indeed,  that  a  man  just  out  of  college  buys 
with  the  intelligence  which  he  displayed.  Among  the 
books  there  are  first  editions  of  Spenser's  Faerie  Queene, 
Ben  Jonson's  Works,  Shakespeare's  Poems,  Robinson 
Crusoe,  Gulliver's  Travels,  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  The 
Elegy  Written  in  a  Country  Churchyard;  and  a  set  of 
the  folios  of  Shakespeare,  one  of  the  finest  known.  The 
collection  is  especially  strong  in  first  editions  and  pres- 
entation copies  of  English  authors  of  the  nineteenth 


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rentury,  ini'ltidiii);  Diekcns,  TluickiTay,  HrowninR,  nnd 
T'-nnyson.  and  in  books  with  asscKriatinns.  Tlic  cuIIl-c- 
titiii  of  Stfvcnsoniana,  both  of  editions  and  of  manu- 
scripts, is  unrivaled.  Tliis  precious  eollcclion  is  to  be 
Kept  in  a  special  rttoin  in  the  new  Library  building 
where  it  ean  be  cared  for  in  a  way  approi)riate  to 
its  value. 

This  building,  which  is  now  under  construction,  will 
make  worthy  provision  for  the  great  collections  of  books 
to  be  housed  therein.  It  is  planned  on  the  most  tjonerous 
scale,  and  will  have  shelf-room  for  more  than  two  mil- 
lion books;  so  that  the  Library  will  not  bo  crowded  for 
many  years  to  come.  There  will  be  ample  space  for 
readers,  both  in  the  great  reading-room,  which  will 
occupy  all  the  front  of  the  building,  and  in  the  large 
special  reading-room  for  the  courses  in  history  and  gov- 
ernment. Besides  this  space,  open  to  all  students,  the 
provision  for  scholars  is  ample  and  generous.  There 
will  be  some  eighty  small  studies  distributed  on  the 
several  floors  of  the  stack,  for  professors  and  visiting 
scholars,  each  one  large  enough  for  a  desk,  and  for  u 
stenographer  when  out;  is  needed.  There  are  also 
350  small  alcoves,  with  glass  partitions,  large  enough 
for  a  table  and  a  chair,  at  which  advanc/d  stu- 
dents can  work.  These  will  occupy  ihe  window-space 
of  the  portion  of  the  Library  devoted  to  the  stack.  There 
will  also  be  on  the  top  floor  a  number  of  rooms  which 
can  be  used  for  seminars  and  small  classes  in  which 
it  is  necessary  to  have  a  consiJorable  number  of  books 
for  consultation.  It  is  the  expectation  that  the  building 
will  be  finished  in  the  autumn  of  1914,  and  then  the  grent 
collections  of  books  will  be  moved  in  and  can  be  put  at 
the  service  of  scholars  under  the  most  favorable  condi- 
tions. 


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EQUIPMP  .T  VUii  RESEARCH 


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The  University  Museum  is  a  great  structure  forming 
three  sides  of  a  hollow  square,  between  Oxford  Street 
and  Divinity  Avenue.  In  it  are  housed  the  Museum  of 
Comparative  Zooloj,'y,  the  Botanical  ^luseuin,  the  Geo- 
logical and  Mineralogical  i\Iuseum,  and  in  the  south 
wing  the  Peabody  ^luseum  of  American  Archajology 
and  Ethnology.  In  addition  to  these  museums,  the 
laboratories  of  Cryptogamic  and  Pliysiologieal  Botany, 
of  Zoology  and  Mineralogy,  of  Geology,  and  of  IMeteor- 
ology,  are  temporarily  provided  for  in  t).e  west  side  of 
the  building.  Much  the  larger  part  of  two  wings  is 
given  over  to  study  and  research.  The  exhibition  rooms 
are  for  the  most  part  open  to  the  public  through  the 
week. 

The  creation  of  the  University  ^lusev.-.  was  due  to 
Louis  Agassiz,  one  of  the  great  scientific  men  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  one  of  the  great  teachers  of  all 
time.  William  James  describes  him,  at  thirty,  as  "  al- 
ready at  the  zenith  of  his  reputation,  recognized  by  all 
as  one  of  those  naturalists  in  the  unlimited  sense,  one 
of  those  folio  copies  of  mankind,  like  Linnaius  and 
Cuvier,  who  aim  at  nothing  less  than  an  acquaintance 
with  the  whole  of  animated  nature."  lie  was  a  leading 
authority  in  branches  of  natural  history  which  now 
seem  little  related — ichthyology  and  geology;  and  his 
election  to  a  professorship  of  geology  and  zoology 
merely  recognized  the  range  of  his  interest  and  his 
acquirements.  But  besides  his  great  scientific  attain- 
ments he  had  an  extraordinary  power  of  stimulating 
the  imagination  of  every  one  whom  he  could  reach,  and 
of  creating  the  belief  that  natural  history  was  the  one 
essential  subject  for  every  one.  The  ]\Iassaehusetts 
Legislature  made  no  resistance  to  his  appeals  for  the 
Museum ;  and  the  conditions  they  imposed,  that  equal 


I  . 


THE  UNIVERSITY  MUSEUM 


255 


sums  of  money  should  be  raised  by  subscription,  were 
met  with  hardly  an  eflfort  on  the  part  of  Agassiz.  Not 
unnaturally  he  had  unlimited  faith  that  his  scientific 
aims  would  not  suffer  for  lack  of  support;  from  his 
youth  he  had  embarked  on  expensive  enterprises  with 
no  apparent  means  of  carrying  them  through,  but  al- 
ways with  success.  When  he  died  nearly  $300,000  was 
raised  by  general  subscription  as  a  memorial  fund  for 
the  endowment  of  the  work  he  had  begun.  The  sum  in- 
cluded a  subscription  amounting  to  over  $9000  from 
more  than  86,000  teachers  and  pupils  in  seventeen  differ- 
ent states.  Professor  James  summed  up  his  career  in 
these  words: — 

And  so,  living  from  month  to  month  and  from  year 
to  year,  with  no  relation  to  prudence  except  his  perti- 
nacious violation  of  all  her  usual  laws,  he  on  the  whole 
achieved  the  compass  of  his  desires,  studied  the  geology 
iind  fauna  of  a  continent,  trained  a  generation  of 
gi'ologists,  founded  one  of  the  chief  museums  of  the 
world,  gave  a  new  impulse  to  scientific  education  in 
Amiriea,  and  died  the  idol  of  the  public,  as  well  as  of 
his  circle  of  immediate  pupils  and  friends. 

Louis  Agassiz  came  first  to  this  country  in  1846,  to 
deliver  a  course  of  lectures  at  the  Lowell  Institute.  In 
1847  :\Ir.  Abbott  Lawrence,  who  had  just  given  $50,000 
to  the  University,  to  establish  what  was  called  in  his 
honor  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School,  invited  him  to 
take  a  professorship  in  the  new  school;  and  he  was  ac- 
cordingly, in  1847,  elected  Professor  of  Zoology  and 
Geology  there.  At  this  time  the  University  had  no 
collections  for  the  illustration  of  his  lectures  or  material 
on  which  his  students  could  work.  He  therefore  set 
about  making  such  collections  himself,  out  of  the  by  no 
means  large  salary  of  his  professorship,  and  by  lectur- 


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256 


EQUIPMENT  FOR  RESEARCH 


ing  outside  the  University,  and  other  devices.  In  1852 
the  collections  were  stored  partly  in  his  own  house, 
partly  in  the  cellar  of  Harvard  Hall,  partly  in  a  shanty 
overhanging  the  river  on  the  Brighton  road;  and  in 
that  year  Mr.  Samuel  A.  Eliot,  then  the  Treasurer  of 
Harvard  College,  raised  by  subscription  $12,000  to  buy 
these  collections  and  make  possible  their  arrangement 
in  the  wooden  building  on  Holmes  Field,  which  has  had 
many  migrations  and  more  uses.  Professor  Agassiz  used 
this  sum  merely  as  a  lever  to  gain  more  specimens  and 
a  larger  collection ;  and  six  years  later  his  materials  had 
again  outgrown  tiie  space  allotted  to  them,  and  had  be- 
come too  important  to  be  tucked  into  any  building  which 
happened  to  have  space  to  spare.  Accordingly  in  1858 
a  movement  was  launched  for  the  building  of  an  in- 
dependent museum  of  natural  history. 

Just  at  this  time  I\Ir.  Francis  C.  Gray  died,  bequeath- 
ing .$50,000  for  the  establishment  of  a  Museum  of  Com- 
parative Zoology.  He  left  to  the  determination  of  his 
nephew  and  executor  the  question  whether  this  Museum 
should  be  attached  to  the  University,  or  should  be  in- 
dependent. The  executor  offered  the  fund  to  the  Uni- 
versity, the  income  of  it  to  be  used  for  the  purchase 
of  specimens.  With  this  income  assured,  Professor 
Agassiz  set  to  work  on  a  still  larger  scheme.  He  pro- 
posed that  the  Commonwealth  should  take  a  share  in 
the  enterprise ;  and  by  his  marvelous  influence  over  men 
he  induced  the  Legislature  to  appropriate  $100,000  for 
the  endowment  of  the  ]\Iuscum,  on  condition  that  its 
friends  should  contribute  enough  to  build  a  fireproof 
building.  The  sum  of  $71,000  was  promptly  raised, 
and  the  grant  secured.  The  University  deeded  to  the 
trustees  of  the  Museum,  who  were  in  part  appointed  by 
the  State,  in  part  chnsen  by  the  subscribers,  five  acres  of 


THE  UNIVERSITY  MUSEUM 


257 


land;  and  articles  of  agreement  were  drawn  up  and 
signed,  by  which  the  scientific  managL-nicnt  of  the 
Museum  was  committed  to  a  Faculty  appointed  by  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College. 

The  cornerstone  was  laid  June  14,  1859,  the  Governor 
of  the  Commonwealth  presiding,  and  introducing  Pro- 
fessor Agassiz,  who  made  an  address  outlining  his 
plans  and  his  hopes  for  the  Museum.  Tne  building  as 
he  planned  it  was  to  be  SQi  feet  in  length  by  6t  feet 
in  width,  with  two  wings  enclosing  a  court,  each  205 
feet  long  and  64  feet  wide.  The  building  began  witli 
a  portion  of  the  east  end  of  the  north  wing,  and  into 
this  the  collections  were  moved  towards  the  end  of  1859. 
Here  Professor  Agassiz  sot  to  work  with  nineteen  pupils 
and  assistants,  and  resources  of  about  $10,000  a  year. 
Many  of  the  pupils  and  assistants  of  these  early  years 
became  in  due  time  distinguished  naturalists. 

The  further  progress  of  the  Museum  is  a  history  of 
generous  aid  from  the  State,  and  of  even  more  generous 
aid  from  the  friends  of  tlie  Director,  to  save  him  from 
the  disappointment  of  what  his  son  called  his  "  reckless 
enthusiasm,"  and  of  munificent  gifts  from  that  son,  who 
to  the  highest  scientific  attainments  added  a  business 
capacity  which  organized  one  of  the  great  copper  mines 
of  the  world.  In  1861  the  State  made  a  further  grant 
of  $20,000  for  the  Museum,  and  in  1864  of  $10,000  more 
for  the  publication  of  catalogues,  which  were  the  nucleus 
of  the  quarto  Memoirs  of  the  IMuseum.  In  1868  the 
State  appropriated  $75,000,  on  condition  that  an  equal 
amount  should  be  raised  by  private  subscription.  In 
1874  the  Legislature  expressed  the  general  sorrow  of 
the  citizens  of  the  State  at  Louis  Agassiz 's  death  by 
appropriating  $50,000  towards  the  memorial  fund. 
The  building  has  grown  rapidly.    In  1871-72  another 


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258 


EQUIP.MEXT  FOR  RESEARCH 


two-fifths  of  the  north  wing  was  addod.  and  in  1877  the 
remaining  fifth  was  completed.  In  ]  880-82  the  north- 
west corner  piece  was  added.  All  these  additions  were 
built  by  Mr.  Alexander  Agassiz.  When  in  1888-89  a 
sum  was  raised  by  Professor  G.  L.  Goodale  to  build  the 
central  section  of  the  Oxford  Street  facade,  :Mr.  Agassiz 
built  the  short  piece  necessary  to  connect  it  with  the 
former  building,  and  the  portion  of  the  University 
Museum  devoted  to  the  Museum  of  Comparative 
Zoology  was  finished.  In  1889  another  section  of  the 
facade  on  Oxford  Street  was  built  for  the  ]Mineralogical 
Museum ;  and  in  1901-02  the  children  of  Louis  Agassiz 
built  the  southwest  corner  for  the  use  of  the  Department 
of  Geology.  In  the  meantime  the  Peabndy  ]\Iuseum  of 
Archaeology  and  Ethnology  had  begun  its  building  in 
1876,  at  the  east  end  of  the  southern  wing  of  the 
Museum.  In  1888  another  section  was  added ;  and  now 
work  is  in  progress  on  the  final  section,^  which  will  close 
the  gap  between  the  Peabody  ]\Iuscum  and  the  rest  of 
the  University  Museum.  Thus  Louis  Agassiz 's  original 
vision  will  be  fulfilled  more  than  fifty  years  after  the 
great  building  was  first  begun,  and  on  the  outlines  which 
he  laid  down  in  the  beginning.  In  1902  Mr.  Alexander 
Agassiz,  in  the  course  of  a  historical  address  on  the 
Museum,  estimated  that  "  the  University  Museum 
Building,  as  it  stands  to-day,  with  its  collections  and 
libraries,  represents  an  outlay  of  more  than  a  million 
and  a  quarter,  with  invested  funds  of  about  $900,000  "; 
and  that  "  during  the  past  seventeen  years  $350,000 
has  been  expended  for  explorations  and  expeditions." 
He  did  not  say,  what  was  well  known  to  his  audience, 
that  he  had  himself  given  by  far  the  larger  part  of  these 
great  sums,  and  had  personally  directed  their  expendi- 
» The  first  sod  was  turned  May  28,  1913. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  MUSEUM 


259 


turc.  He  reproscntod  that  rarost  of  eoinbinations,  the 
most  distiuguishcd  seientifie  knowledge,  a  large  and  gen- 
erous conception  of  the  functions  of  a  university  mu- 
seum, and  the  great  fortune  which  made  it  possible  for 
liim  to  put  into  execution  the  plans  which  he  made  for 
tlic  advancement  of  science. 

In  1911  the  President  and  Fellows  very  appropriately 
voted  that  "  the  buildings  of  the  ^Museum  of  Compara- 
tive Zoology  should  thenceforth  be  known  as  '  Agassiz 
Hall.'  " 

The  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoiilog}',  which  is  the 
original  and  the  largest  unit  of  the  University  Museum, 
was  founded  by  Louis  Agasjiz  with  two  objects,  advanced 
investigation  and  the  instruction  of  the  public.  His 
great  genius  as  a  teaclicr,  and  his  intense  interest  in 
extending  the  knowledge  of  natural  history,  joined  to 
his  eager  faith  in  its  value  in  education,  gave  the  latter 
object  almost  e(|ual  importance  in  his  eyes  with  the  for- 
mer, and  he  laid  out  the  plans  for  the  exhibition  rooms 
on  a  system  unique  at  the  time,  but  since  followed  in 
other  museums. 

The  public  exhibition  rooms  occupy  the  greater  part 
of  three  floors  of  the  north  wing,  and  adjoining  rooms 
of  one  floor  of  the  central  section,  in  which  are  the 
exhibition  rooms  of  the  Botanical  Museum  and  of  the 
]iIineralogical  and  Geological  I\Iuseums.  Near  the  en- 
trance is  the  Synoptic  Room,  in  which  is  a  small  col- 
lection of  specimens  of  both  living  and  fossil  animals, 
which  show  the  characteristics  and  relationships  of  the 
several  groups  of  animals,  leading  up  to  man.  The 
other  rooms  are  distributed  between  two  schemes.  In 
one  part  living  and  fossil  animals  are  shown,  by  well- 
choson  specimens,  in  their  systematic  relations  to  each 


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other ;  in  the  other  they  are  shown  in  geographical  ar- 
rangement. In  all  the  exhibition  rooms  the  aim  is  to 
present  characteristic  types  rather  than  a  complete  dis- 
play of  species. 

Some  of  tlie  specimens  are  beautiful  and  striking. 
There  are,  for  example,  a  very  fine  specimen  of  the 
great  Manehurian  tiger,  the  largest  of  all  the  tigers,  an 
excellent  giraffe,  a  dwarf  hii»pop()tamus,  and  a  very 
good  specimen  of  the  very  rare  okapi  of  the  African 
forests,  which  has  the  appearance  of  being  related  to 
both  zebra  and  giraffe.  Among  the  reptiles  there  are 
very  beautifully  mounted  examples  of  the  pythons,  one 
of  them  22  feet  long,  hanging  from  the  stump  of  a  tree 
in  the  most  realistic  manner.  Some  of  the  fishes,  too, 
have  been  prepared  by  a  new  process  which  preserves 
the  beauty  of  their  colors.  There  is  a  small  collection 
showing  the  nesting  habits  of  birds,  with  the  birds 
mounted  in  various  attitudes,  both  resting  and  on  the 
wing,  near  the  nests.  There  are  separate  rooms  devoted 
to  the  fossils. 

In  the  room  devoted  to  corals  there  are  two  very 
beautiful  and  vivid  models  of  two  types  of  coral  islands. 
These  models  arc  made  on  exact  scale,  both  horizontally 
and  vertically,  and  show  the  characteristic  formation 
of  such  islands.  Both  were  made  by  Mr.  G.  C.  Curtis 
for  Alexander  Agassiz  from  studies  on  the  spot  under 
the  direction  of  the  latter.  To  show  the  depths  of  the 
surrounding  sea,  the  models  are  scooped  away  around 
the  islands,  and  the  illusion  of  sea-level  is  preserved  by 
suspending  minute  models  of  vessels  from  invisible  wires 
where  sea-level  would  be.  On  the  model  of  the  island 
of  Bora  Bora,  which  has  a  central  volcanic  cone,  ves- 
sels in  the  harbor  and  houses  are  also  indicated  by 
minute  models,  and  the  tropical  foliage  climbing  up  to 


THE  UNIVERSITY  MUSEUM 


261 


the  foot  of  the  cliffs  is  very  realistic.  By  putting  the 
»ye  at  the  line  of  sea-level  one  gets  the  most  vivid 
illusion  of  reality. 

The  portion  of  the  Museum  devoted  to  the  laboratories 
and  the  working  collections  is  by  far  the  largest.    These 
collections  are  very  extensive,  and  very  well  rounded  in 
all  branches  of  zoology.     The  special  interests  of  both 
Louis  and   Alexander  Agassiz  are   representid   in  the 
groat  collections  of  fishes  and  echinoderms,  both  fossil 
and  living.     Among  the   fishes   are  to   be  found   the 
large  collections  from  Brazil  sent  by  the  former  Em- 
peror, Dom  Pedro  II,  as  a  mark  of  his  regard  for  Louis 
Agassiz,  and  supplemented  by  the  latter  himself  on  the 
Thayer  expedition  up  the  Amazon   in   1865-66.     The 
ver>'  extensive  collections  of  echinoderms  were  largely 
made  by  Alexander  Agassiz  himself  during  his  expedi- 
tions on  the  Blake  and  the  Albatross,  and  on  his  expedi- 
tions to  Australia  and  elsewhere  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
They  are  also  strong  in  fossil  specimens.    Neither  father 
nor  son,  however,  allowed  his  interest  in  the  IMuseum 
to  be  limited  to  the  subjects  on  which  he  was  himself 
so  high  in  authority;  and  both  cf  them  built  up  the 
eollections    of   the    Museum    in    every    department    of 
zoology.    It  is  hard  to  single  out  for  mention  any  special 
collections  where  all  are  so  strong.    Perhaps  the  collec- 
tion of  insects  is  as  distinguished  as  any,  for  it  includes 
a  very  large  number  of  type  specimens,  that  is,  speci- 
mens  on    which    the    original    description    was   based. 
Among  these  are  some  which  were  used  by  Linnaeus. 
Proiessor  Hagen,  who  was  brought  from  Germany  in 
1870  to  be  Professor  of  Entomology,  later  refused  a  call 
to  the  Museum  at  Berlin  because  the  collections  of  the 
Agassiz  Museum  were  so  extensive.    The  study  collection 


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EQUIPMENT  FOR  RESEARCH 


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of  birds,  too,  is  believed  to  be  as  strong  as  any  in  the 
country. 

For  the  study  of  these  great  collections  there  are 
many  rooms  and  laboratories,  and  cf  .'h  department  has 
its  curator  and  his  assistants.  There  are  now  nine 
curators.  Special  collections  arc  sent  to  scholars,  both 
in  this  country  and  abroad,  for  examination  and  report ; 
and  other  scholars  come  to  the  Museum  for  investiga- 
tion of  special  subjects. 

The  activities  of  the  Museum  are  published  in  the 
Memoirs  and  the  Bulletins.  Of  the  former,  which  are 
of  quarto  size,  thirty-nine  volumes  have  now  been  is- 
sued, representing  the  more  extensive  studies,  each 
with  text  and  carefully-drawn  plates.  Of  the  Bulletin, 
which  is  an  octavo,  fifty-two  volumes  have  been  pub- 
lished. Each  number  of  the  Bulletin  usually  includes 
a  number  of  studies.  In  the  Bulletin  are  published  the 
contributions  from  the  Zoological  Laboratory  and  the 
Geological  Series. 

The  library  of  the  Museum  is  rich  and  extensive.  It 
has  had  the  advantage  of  aid  in  ordering  books  and 
pamphlets  not  only  of  members  of  the  regular  staff,  but 
also  of  visiting  scholars,  who  have  written  orders  for 
many  books  which  had  not  yet  been  acquired.  In  1912 
the  library  contained  49.155  volumes,  and  45,535  pam- 
phlets. This  librarj',  with  those  of  the  Boston  Society  of 
Natural  History  and  the  American  Academy  of  Arts 
and  Sciences,  provides  an  extraordinarily  complete  col- 
lection for  the  study  of  zoology. 

The  iVIinoralogical  Museum,  which  occupies  the  south 
central  part  of  the  University  Museum,  is  historically 
the  oldest  organized  scientific  collection  of  the  Univer- 
sity.   Dr.  Benjamin  Waterhouse,  the  first  Curator,  who 


THE  UNIVERSITY  MUSEUM 


263 


introduced  vaccination  into  America,  wrote  in  a  kttcr 
DOW  in  possession  of  the  Museum:  "  I  have  in  like 
manner,  commenced  several  useful  things  besides  vac- 
cination. I  began  the  business  of  Mineralogy  in  1784, 
and  from  about  Va  peck  of  minerals  formed  the 
cabinet  in  this  University  of  Cambridge,  which  led  to 
the  one  you  now  have  at  New  Haven,  and  every  other 
in  the  United  States."  This  "  V-  peck  of  minerals  " 
of  1784  has  become  one  of  the  four  or  five  chief  collec- 
tions in  our  time. 

The  first  considerable  addition  came  in  1795  with  the 
gift  from  Dr.  Lettsom,  a  Quaker  physician  of  London, 
of  a  valuable  collection  of  minerals,  which  by  subse- 
quent gifts  he  brought  up  to  seven  hundred  specimens. 
For  this  collection  the  President  and  Fellows  provided 
a  cabinet.    They  also  appointed  Dr.  Waterhouse  keeper 
of  the  mineralogical  cabinet ;  and  he  arranged  and  cata- 
logued it.    In  1795  M.  Mozard,  consul  in  Boston  of  the 
French    Republic,    presented   two   hundred   specimens 
"  as  samples  of  the  riches  of  the  French  soil,"  on  be- 
half of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  with  many 
protestations  of  liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity.    In 
1820  Mr.   Andrew  Ritchie  presented  the  collection  of 
C.  A.  Blode,  a  well-known  mineralogist  and  chemist 
of  Dresden,  Germany;  and  in  1824  several  thousand 
more  specimens  were  added  by  a  subscription  in  Boston. 
The  collection  thus  augmented  was  rearranged  by  Dr. 
J.  W.  Webster,  later  Erving  Professor  of  Chemistry. 
The  mineralogical   cabinet  f't  this  time  was  kept  in 
Harvard  Hall;  and  in  1840  it  contained  about  26.000 

specimens. 

The  importance  of  the  Mineralogical  ISIuseum  both 
in  size  and  quality,  however,  began  in  1850,  when  Pro- 
fessor Josiah  Parsons  Cooke,  Jr.,  succeeded  to  the  Erving 


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Professorship  of  Chemistry  und  Alincralogy.  In  his 
long  service,  which  lasti-d  until  181)4,  he  gave  affec- 
tionate earo  to  the  collection,  constantly  adding  new 
or  better  material,  cither  through  purchase  or  through 
the  gifts  which  flowed  in  under  the  influence  of  his 
enthusiasm  and  knowledge.  In  1858  he  moved  the 
mincralogical  cabinet  to  Doylston  Hall,  then  just  fin- 
ished; and  in  1891  he  helped  to  move  it  to  its  present 
ample  quarters,  where  it  became  the  Mincralogical 
Museum.  Chief  among  the  additions  of  his  long  serv- 
ice are  the  Liebener  collection,  rich  in  minerals  from 
the  Tyrol,  which  was  purchased  in  1869;  the  J.  Law- 
rence Smith  collection  of  meteorites,  given  in  1883 ;  the 
Bigelow  collection  of  agates,  formed  by  Dr.  Henry  J. 
Bigelow,  Professor  of  Surgery  from  1849  to  1882,  and 
his  son,  Dr.  William  Sturgis  Bigelow,  which  was  given 
to  the  Museum  by  the  latter  in  1891;  the  Hamlin  col- 
lection of  tourmalines,  the  largest  collection  yet  made 
from  the  deposits  in  Maine;  and  the  Garland  gem 
minerals,  given  by  James  A.  Garland  of  New  York  in 
1892. 

The  Museum  occupies  a  large  hall  with  its  gallery, 
and  the  specimens  are  arranged  in  systematic  order  in 
■wall-cases,  and  flat  cases  on  the  floor  of  the  hall  and 
gallery.  There  are  between  12,000  and  13,000  speci- 
mens on  exhibition,  many  of  them  very  beautiful,  apart 
from  their  scientific  interest.  Among  the  most  striking 
features  of  the  collections  arc  the  Hamlin  collection  of 
tourmalines  from  Paris.  Maine,  and  its  neighborhood, 
with  about  1000  crj-stals,  mostly  of  gem  quality.  In- 
cluded in  the  Garland  collection  of  gem  minerals  is  a 
great  diamond  crystal,  which  is  a  perfect  yellow  octahe- 
dron weighing  over  83  carats,  a  Siberian  aquamarine 
crystal  five  inches  long  and  two  inches  thick,  a  trans- 


THE  UNIVERSITY  MUSEUM 


263 


parent  golden  beryl  of  nearly  the  same  size,  two  large 
nieces  of  Australian  precious  opal,  and  a  globular  Mexi- 
( an  fire-opal  nearly  two  inches  in  diameter.  The  col- 
l.etion  of  meteorites  is  one  of  the  largest  in  existence, 
and  represents  255  separate  falls.  The  liigelow  collec- 
tion of  agates  has  450  specimens,  mostly  cut  and  pol- 
ished, which  exhibit  in  great  variety  the  structure  and 
growth. 

Besides  the  portion  of  the  collection  which  is  open 
for  public  exhibition,  the  Museum  has  a  second  extensive 
collection  for  class-room  use,  which  is  kept  in  eases  in 
the  principal  lecture  room;  and  it  has  also  very  large 
stores  of  specimens  for  the  use  of  classes  for  study. 

For  purposes  of  instruction  the  Museum  has  class- 
rooms, a  chemical  laboratory,  a  machine-room  for 
preparation  of  specimens,  and  a  room  for  crystallog- 
raphy, with  instruments  for  measuring  the  angles  and 
surfaces  of  crystals.  As  everywhere  else  in  the  Univer- 
sity Museum,  research  is  one  of  the  chi  ms  of  the 
Mineralogical  Museum. 

The  Geological  Museum  occupies  several  rooms 
adjacent  to  the  Mineralogical  Museum,  in  which  are 
exliibitions  which  illustrate  some  of  the  chief  forces 
molding  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  their  results. 
There  is  a  small  selected  collection  of  fossil  remains, 
both  plant  and  animal ;  but  most  of  the  fossil  exhibitions 
are  in  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology.  The  chief 
exhibitions  of  the  Geological  Museum  are  in  the  form 
of  models.  These  include  a  model  of  Valparaiso  after 
the  earthquake,  showing  the  way  in  which  the  front 
walls  of  the  houses  fell  off.  There  are  also  models  of 
glacial  regions  in  Switzerland,  both  typical  and  actual, 
from  the  laboratory  of  Professor  Heim  of  Zurich.    These 


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inodi'ls,  which  arc  mmlo  nccurato  to  scaU',  both  vertical 
and  liorizont'il,  show  in  n  most  vivid  way  the  goolofjical 
formation  of  the  mountain  ranges,  the  movements  of 
glaciers,  and  the  resultant  shapus  of  the  land-masses 
which  result  from  thf  action  of  frost  and  weather.  An- 
other type  of  model  is  of  large  areas.  Among  these  are 
relief  models  of  a  section  of  France,  made  for  the  French 
General  Staff  and  given  to  the  Museum  through  Pro- 
fessor  W.  M.  Davis.  There  is  also  a  relief  map  of  Bos- 
ton and  its  neighborhood,  10  feet  in  diameter,  made  by 
G.  C.  Curtis  for  the  State,  and  now  deposited  in  the 
Museum ;  and  a  large  relief  map  of  Southeastern  New 
England,  showing  tlie  innumerable  streams  and  lakes 
S5  characteristie  of  t\w  region. 


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Botanical  study  at  Harvard  is  distributed  among  six 
separate  departments:  the  Gray  Herbarium,  the  Botanic 
Garden,  the  Botanical  Museum,  the  Botanical  Labora- 
tories, the  Arnold  Arboretum,  and  the  Bussey  Institu- 
tion. All  of  these  are  entirely  devoted  to  some  special 
field  of  botanical  study,  except  the  Bussey  Institution, 
where  plant-breeding  is  merely  one  branch  of  applied 
biologj',  and  therefore  need  not  be  separately  discussed 
here. 

The  dawn  of  botany  at  Harvard  goes  back  to  January, 
1784,  when  the  Corporation  applied  to  the  General 
Court  to  found  a  botanic  garden  to  receive  seeds  and 
plants  which  the  King  of  France  had  offered  to  furnish 
from  his  royal  garden  at  his  own  expense.  The  State, 
however,  took  no  action.  Before  1788  Professor  Ben- 
.iamin  Waterhouse,  one  of  the  first  professors  of  the 
Medical  School,  and  the  first  keeper  of  the  mineralogical 
cabinet,  was  lecturing  on  botany.  In  1805  the  Massa- 
chusetts Professorship  of  Natural  History  was  founded 


THE  BOTAraC  GARDEN 


267 


'!• 


by  a  fund  of  $30,000,  raided  by  subscription,  and  Wil- 
liam Dandridgo  I'eck  was  ehisen  the  first  professor.  He 
was  sent  abroad  to  study  botanical  gardens,  and  on  his 
rttum  laid  out  and  arnipccd  the  Dotanic  Garden,  the 
site  for  which  had  been  j)urchased  on  what  are  now 
(tarden  and  Linuean  streets  in  Cambridge,  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  College  Yard.  lie  attained  considerable 
rrputation  as  a  botanist  and  entomologist.  When  he 
died  in  1822  he  was  succeeded  by  Thomas  Nuttall,  an 
Englishman  of  eccentric  habits,  but  of  high  scientific 
attainments,  who  had  already  published  a  noteworthy 
work  on  American  botany,  and  who  was  distinguished 
also  for  his  work  on  ornithology.  He  was  curator 
until  1834.  In  1833  Joshua  Fisher  (A.B.  1766)  left 
to  the  President  and  Fellows  "  the  sum  of  $20,000, 
the  inc'  Tie  of  it  to  be  appropriated  to  the  support 
of  the  1  lessor  of  Natural  History,  comprehending  the 
three  kingdoms,  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral,  or  a 
part  of  them." 

This  professorship  was  not  filled  until  18-42;  but  in 
the  meantime  lectures  on  botany  were  given  by  T.  W. 
Harris,  the  Librarian  of  the  College,  and  Dr.  A.  A. 
Gould.  In  1842  Dr.  Asa  Gray  was  elected  Fisher  Pro- 
fessor of  Natural  History,  and  botany  became  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  of  the  scientific  activities  of  the 
University.  He  was  already  recognized  as  the  leader 
among  American  botanists  and  as  one  of  the  leading 
botanists  of  the  world.  His  reputation  was  so  great 
that  many  collections  of  plants  from  the  explorations  not 
only  of  tile  United  States  but  of  all  the  rest  of  North 
America,  including  Mexico,  and  collections  from  Japan 
and  the  Pacific  islands  were  sent  to  him  for  study  and 
determination.  Through  these  collections  and  others 
made  by  himself,  or  received  by  gift  or  purchase  or 


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EQlUraiENT  FOR  RESEARCH 


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exchange,    he    built    up    a    very    large    and    valuable 
herbarium.     At  tlie  same  time  he  brought  together  a 
very  large  number  of  books  on  Imtany.     These  eollec- 
tions  and  this  library  he  gave  to  the  University  in  1864 
and  they  are  the  foundation  of  tlie  eolleetions  of  the 
Gray   Ilerbarium.     Both   library   and  eolleetions  have 
since  been  continuously  extended,  both  by  special  ex- 
peditions and  by  exchange  and  purchase. 
^  The  collections  are  invaluable.     Tliere  are  now  over 
500,000  sheets  of  specimens  arranged  in  the  eases.    Their 
scientific  importance  is  greatly  enhanced  by  the  very 
great  number  of  type-specimens  to  which  all  identifica- 
tions in  the  future  must  go  back,  and  of  specimens 
critically    identified   during   monographic   work.     The 
fact  that  Dr.  Gray's  popular  works  on  botany  were  so 
widely  used  has  resulted  in  the  sending  to  the  Her- 
barium of  many  specimens,  and  he  and  his  successor, 
Sereno  Watson,  and  the  present  staff  have  identified  an 
enormous  number  of  new  species. 

The  Gray  Herbarium  aims  to  bo  first  and  chiefly  an 
American  collection.  In  addition  to  its  riches  in  the 
way  of  specimens  of  the  flora  of  North  America,  in- 
cluding Mexico,  it  is  also  very  strong  in  plants  from 
Central  and  South  America  and  from  the  West  Indies. 
Its  collections  of  European,  Asiatic,  and  African  plants 
are  amply  sufficient  for  comparative  purposes,  but  it 
has  not  been  the  policy  of  the  Gray  Herbarium  to 
specialize  in  those  regions  where  other  herbaria  were  in 
better  position  to  do  the  work. 

The  library-  of  the  Herbarium  is  verv  strong.  It  has 
now  over  22.000  carefully  selected  volumes  and  pam- 
phlets. Its  value  is  reinforced  for  botanists  of  this 
region  by  the  library  of  the  Arnold  Arboretum,  which 
is  devoted  to  woody  plants,  the  library  of  the  Massa- 


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THE  GRAY  HERBARIUM 


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69 


chusctts  Horticultural  Society  in  Boston,  which  is 
strong  in  works  of  horticulture,  and  by  the  libraries 
of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  and 
the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History. 

The  scientific  publications  of  the  Herbarium  include 
the  continuation  and  the  revision  of  the  larger  works  of 
Dr.  Gray,  and  the  Cuutributions  from  the  Gray  Her- 
barium of  Harvard  University,  a  series  of  technical 
papers  devoted  chieHy  to  the  characterization  of  new 
species  and  to  monographs  on  genera.  The  officers  of 
the  Herbarium  also  constantly  write  papers,  both 
technical  and  popular,  which  appear  in  various  scientific 
journals.  The  Herbarium  issues  quarterly  a  card  index 
of  new  genera,  species,  and  varieties  of  American  plants. 
These  cards,  of  which  there  are  now  over  100,000,  are 
supplied  to  other  herbaria. 

The  Gray  Herbarium  has  a  building  in  the  Botanic 
Garden,  almost  all  of  which  is  of  modern  and  fireproof 
construction.  The  purpose  of  the  Herbarium  is  almost 
wholly  research,  but  its  officers  offer  a  few  courses  for 
undergraduates  and  graduates  on  the  classification  and 
distribution  of  plants. 

The  Botanic  Garden,  though  it  is  the  earliest  founda- 
tion for  the  study  of  botany  at  Harvard,  is  at  present 
on  the  whole  the  least  active;  for  its  endowment  has 
never  been  equal  to  its  needs,  nor  is  the  soil  particularly 
favorable  for  the  purpose.  It  has  about  seven  acres  of 
land  on  Garden  and  Linna?an  streets,  not  far  from 
the  College  Yard,  and  here  there  are  growing  some 
5000  species  of  flowering  plants,  which  are  interest- 
ing for  scientific  or  educational  purposes.  There  is  a 
considerable  collection  of  wild  Nortu  American  plants, 
illustrating  the  orders  and  principal  genera  of  the 
United  States,  with  a  good  many  species  from  the  Old 


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270 


EQUIPMENT  FOR  RESEARCH 


World  for  comparison.  The  grocnhousos  have  in  part 
been  recently  rebuilt.  In  them  are  collections  of  desert 
plants,  of  cacti,  of  palms  and  their  allies,  of  Mexican 
plants  and  ferns,  of  tropical  orchids,  and  of  Australa- 
sian plants;  and  there  are  also  houses  assijined  to  ex- 
perimental work  in  vcfjctable  physiology  and  growing 
plants  for  the  elementary  course  in  botany. 

Both  grounds  and  greenhouses  are  open  to  the  public, 
and  the  display  of  spring  llowers,  such  as  tulips, 
hyacinths,  and  irises,  always  draws  many  visitors.  A 
good  many  classes  come  from  schools,  especially  in  the 
spring  and  autumn  ;  and  the  students  in  landscape  archi- 
tecture make  use  of  the  Garden  for  part  of  their  work 
in  horticulture. 

In  connection  with  the  State  Forester's  office,  the 
Botanic  Garden  has  carried  on  the  work  of  propagating 
and  distributing  a  fungus  which  is  fatal  to  the  brown- 
tail-moth  larva\  and  studies  are  being  carried  on  in  the 
search  for  a  similar  enemy  to  the  gypsy  moth. 

Under  the  general  direction  of  the  Boianic  Garden  a 
Harvard  experiment  station  is  maintained  in  Cien- 
fuegos,  Cuba.  Here  experiments  are  being  made  with 
the  purpose  of  producing  ami  propagating  a  variety  of 
sugar  cane  with  a  higher  percentage  of  sugar,  and  also 
in  the  production  of  other  tropical  plants  of  economic 
value. 


11  •'      i 


Of  all  the  museums  of  the  University  none  is  more 
widely  known  popularly  than  the  Botanical  Museum, 
for  here  is  kept  the  Ware  collection  of  glass-flowers. 
These  are  models  of  a  great  number  of  the  native  flowers 
of  America,  made  in  glass  by  Leopold  and  Rudolph 
Blaschka.  two  artists  of  Germany,  father  and  son,  the 
former  of  whom  is  now  dead,     Tlif  process  is  secret; 


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THE  BOTANICAL  MUSEUM 


271 


and  they  have  been  under  exclusive  contract  to  the 
Museum,  and  have  now  completed  a  very  large  number 
of  typical  species.  Each  species  is  usually  represented 
by  several  models,  including  the  whole  plant,  if  it  be  not 
too  large,  separate  flowers,  or  clusters  of  flowers,  and 
in  many  cases  greatly  enlarged  models  of  the  pistils  and 
stamens  and  other  parts  of  the  flowers,  to  show  their 
structure.  The  work  is  exquisitely  done,  and  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  believe  that  the  flowers  are  not  real  and  fresh- 
picked.  Especially  the  small  clustered  flowers  are  ex- 
ceedingly natural.  The  collection  well  deserves  the 
double  star,  with  which  it  is  distinguished  in  the 
Baedeker  of  America. 

Besides  this  collection  of  models  the  Botanical  Museum 
has  a  considerable  collection  of  books  on  economic 
botany,  most  of  which  has  now  to  be  stored  for  lack  of 
space.    It  is,  however,  accessible  for  study. 

The  cryptogamic  herbarium  and  laboratory  have 
rooms  on  the  upper  floor  of  the  botanical  section  of  the 
University  ^luscum.  The  work  in  erj'ptogamic  botany 
did  not  begin  until  1870,  when  Dr.  William  G.  Farlow 
became  assistant  to  Professor  Asa  Gray,  with  special 
charge  of  that  branch  of  the  science.  At  that  time  it 
had  not  really  begun  to  be  studied  in  America,  and  Dr. 
Farlow,  finding  it  impossible  to  get  even  a  passable 
knowledge  of  the  subject  at  home,  went  to  Europe  and 
spent  two  years  of  study  in  Germany  and  France.  The 
state  of  the  science  at  this  time  is  illustrated  by  tbe  fact 
that  in  the  chief  German  text-book  of  the  subject  pub- 
lished in  1870  there  is  no  reference  to  bacteria.  The 
whole  range  of  these  lower  forms  of  plant-life  has  de- 
veloped since  that  time.  When  Dr.  Farlow  returned 
from  Europe  he  was  made  Assistant  Professor  of  Botany, 
and  was  stationed  at  the  Bussey  Institution,  where  he 


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EQUIPMENT  FOR  RESEARCH 


made  special  studios  of  diseases  of  oeonomie  plants 
due  to  fungi.  In  1879  the  instruction  in  cryptogamic 
botany  was  transferred  to  Cambridge,  and  Dr.  Farlow 
was  elected  professor. 

In  the  meantime  lie  had  begun  the  collections,  which 
are    now    notable    in    size    and    completeness.      The 
nucleus  was  the  large  collection  of  fungi  made  by  the 
Reverend  M.  A.  Curtis,  which  was  bought  by  Dr.  Farlow 
in  1872.     The  collection  of  lichens  was  based  on  that 
of  the  late  Professor  Edward  Tuokerman  of  Amherst, 
which  was  bought  by  subscription  in  1888.     The  algjB 
have  been  largely  collected  by  Dr.  Farlow,  but  there  are 
many  foreign  species  given  by  a  great  nutnber  of  col- 
lectors.    The  mosses  and  hepatics  are  built  up  on  the 
collection  of  the  late  W.  S.   SuUivant,  which  he  be- 
queathed  to  the  Gray  Herbarium.     All  i[\i-  collections 
belonging  to  the  University  of  cryptogamijs  below  the 
ferns  are  now  kept  in  the  Cryptogamic  Herbarium.    The 
others  are  retained  at  the  Gray  Herbarium.    There  is  no 
close  estimate  of  the  number  of  specimens  in  the  Cryp- 
togamic Herbarium,  but  it  surely  exceeds  300,000.     In 
the  series  of  Exsiccati,  in  which  the  Herbarium  is  very 
rich,  there  are  over  160,000.    The  library  of  the  Crypto- 
gamic Laboratory  is  a  working  collection,  not  very  large, 
for  Dr.  Farlow  has  f-eely  and  generously  put  his  own 
large  collection  of  books  on  the  subject  at  the  disposal 
of  students  in  the  department. 

Instruction  is  given  in  the  laboratories  both  to  under- 
graduates and  to  graduate  students.  There  are  at  pres- 
ent an  elein-ntarj'  course  and  a  course  for  undergradu- 
ates and  graduates,  besides  the  work  in  research  under 
the  direction  of  the  professors.  The  number  of  stu- 
dents in  so  specialized  a  subject  can  never  be  very 
larf»e. 


',  i 


THE  ARNOLD  ARBORETUM 


273 


Of  the  departments  of  the  University,  there  is  none 
which  has  such  charm  for  the  eye  as  the  Arnold  Arbo- 
retum, and  for  scientific  study  few  which  are  more  dis- 
tinguished. It  was  founded  in  1872  by  the  Trustees  under 
tlie  will  of  James  Arnold  of  New  Bedford,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  scientific  research  and  experiment  in  the  growth 
of  trees  and  shrubs.  The  Corporation  granted  to  it  220 
acres,  from  th"  estate  of  394  acres  in  Jamaica  Plain 
near  the  Forest  Hills  station,  which  had  been  left  to 
the  University  by  Benjamin  Bussey.  Its  natural  sur- 
face is  highly  variegated;  it  has  several  hills  of  some 
height,  and  between  them  are  slopes  and  meadow-land 
with  a  considerable  brook.  On  one  of  the  hills  there 
is  a  thick  grove  of  ancient  pine  and  hemlock. 

The  Director  of  the  Arnold  Arboretum  is  Professor 
Charles  S.  Sargent,  who  has  held  that  office  since  its 
foundation.  In  1879  he  was  elected  the  first  Arnold 
Professor  of  Arboriculture.  He  is  in  a  very  real  way 
the  father  of  the  institution,  for  he  shaped  Uie  original 
plans,  laid  out  the  grounds,  and  defined  the  purposes  of 
the  Arboretum.  It  was  his  conception  that  it  should 
be  a  garden  devoted  entirely  to  the  growth  of  trees  and 
other  woody  plants,  and  in  this  limitation  it  is  unioue 
in  the  world.  At  his  suggestion,  the  President  and  Fel- 
lows made  an  arrangement  with  the  City  of  Boston 
under  which  the  Arboretum  was  brought  into  an  alliance 
with  the  park  system  of  the  city.  The  latter  builds  and 
maintains  roads,  and  provides  for  the  policing,  and 
in  return  the  University  opens  the  Arboretum  as  a  pub- 
lic park. 

The  spreading  out  of  the  population  to  the  west 
of  Boston  is  rapidly  surrounding  the  Arboretum 
with  a  thickly  settled  district;  and  in  pleasant  days  in 
b^jriug,  when  the  best  of  the  trees  and  shrubs  are  ia 


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274 


EQi:iPMENT  FOR  RESEARCH 


blossom,  the  paths  and  roadways  are  often  thronged 
with  people  and  earriages. 

In  the  Arl)orotuin,  i'rofessor  Sargent  has  brought  to- 
gether an  unrivaled  coUcetion  of  trees,  shrubs,  and 
vines,  whieh  will  grow  in  the  climate  of  Massachusetts; 
and  in  recent  years  most  important  additions  to  the 
resources  of  landscape  architects  have  been  made 
through  trees,  shrubs,  and  vines  brought  from  Eastern 
Asia.  Professor  Sargent  himself  visited  Japan  some 
years  ago  and  explored  its  gardens  and  forests,  and 
brought  back  many  seeds  and  plants.  The  greatest 
advance,  however,  has  been  made  within  the  last  few 
years  through  the  explorations  of  Mr.  E.  II.  Wilson  on 
behalf  of  the  Arboretum  in  the  mountains  of  Western 
China.  This  region  is  extraordinarily  rich  in  trees  and 
shrubs,  and  practically  all  the  specimens  have  proved 
to  be  hardy  under  the  climatic  conditions  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Already  there  are  growing  in  the  Arboretum 
over  100  species  of  trees  from  China,  a  number 
equal  to  the  whole  number  of  species  of  native  trees  in 
New  England;  and  there  are  probably,  besides,  500 
species  of  shrubs  and  vines.  Many  of  tiie  trees 
are  of  great  beauty  and  some  of  them  are  valuable  for 
timber;  and  many  of  the  shrubs  and  vines  are  notable 
additions  to  the  resources  of  our  gardens.  Besides  these 
trees  and  plants  directly  imported,  a  beginning  has  been 
made  in  hybridizing,  which  promises  indefinitely  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  trees  and  flowering  r.hrubs  and 
vines  whieh  will  be  available  for  planting  in  New  Eng- 
land and  in  America  in  general. 

Scientifically,  the  value  of  the  collection  is  hardly  to 
be  overestimated,  and  the  collection  out  of  doors  is  sup- 
plemented by  the  Herbarium  and  the  Library.  The 
Herbarium  has  already  a  very  large  number  of  speci- 


THE  ARNOLD  ARBORETUM 


275 


mens  of  dried  plants,  and  in  the  new  part  of  the  build- 
ing there  is  room  for  a  million  sheets  of  specimens.  At 
present  the  Library  has  26,700  volumes  and  6600 
pamphlets.  Its  basis  was  Professor  Sargent's  private 
collection,  which  he  gave  to  the  Arboretum  some  years 
ago. 

The  Arboretum  is  highly  productive,  not  only  in  trees 
and  plants,  but  in  printed  works.  The  most  im- 
[jortant  work  yet  issued  k  Professor  Sargent's  great 
"  Silva  of  North  America."  It  i.s  in  14  volumes,  and  has 
descriptions  and  drawings,  with  much  information  about 
the  growth  of  every  tr  o  of  timber-producing  size  in 
North  America  north  of  Mexico.  The  Arboretum  is  also 
producing  under  Professor  Sargent's  supervision  the 
Bradley  Bibliography  of  the  trees  and  shrubs  of  the 
world.  It  will  be  in  five  volumes,  and  it  is  hoped  that 
it  will  be  a  complete  list  of  all  works  on  the  subject  in 
all  European  languages. 

To  the  layman,  however,  the  outward  beauty  of  the 
Arboretum  is  its  aiost  striking  feature.  The  land  is 
greatly  varied,  as  has  been  said,  and  the  planting  shows 
the  greatest  taste.  In  spite  of  the  very  great  numbers 
of  trees  and  shrubs,  there  is  no  appearance  of  crowding; 
and  except  in  one  part  of  the  ground,  where  the  differ- 
ent varieties  are  kept  together  in  rectangular  beds,  the 
design  is  wholly  natural.  Trees  of  the  same  kind 
are  kept  together  for  purposes  of  comparison,  and  the 
grouping  produces  a  most  agreeable  variety  in  the  land- 
scape. All  through  the  spring  and  early  summer,  there 
are  constant  displays  of  flowering  shrubs.  Among  the 
most  striking  arc  the  lilacs  of  all  varieties  and  all  colors, 
which  are  planted  along  one  of  the  principal  roads;  a 
little  later  come  the  flamc-colorcd  Japanese  azaleas,  and 
then  masses  of  rhododendrons  and  hawthorns  and  many 


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276  EQUIPMENT  FOR  RESEARCH 

bushes   of   flowering   honeysuckle.     One   of  the    most 
beautiful  of  all  the  plantations  is  the  long  line  of  Ameri- 
can laurel  along  the  brook  at  the  foot  of  Hemlock  Hill, 
where  their  exquisite  coloring  is  set  forth  by  the  dark 
masses  of  the  evergreen  above  them.    A  little  later  come 
the  catalpa  trees,  and  then  the  mock-orange  or  syringa. 
Later  on  there  are  the  various  species  of  viburnum  with 
their  snowy  white  flowers,  the  elders  and  the  native 
white    azalea,    the    woodwax    or    genista,    the    yellow 
clematis  and  the  magnolia  glauca,  and,  in  the  middle  of 
the  summer,  the  clethra.    iMany  of  the  trees  and  shrubs 
have  colored  fruits  and  berries,  which  last  well  into  the 
winter,  and  in  the  autumn  there  is  great  variety  in  the 
brilliance  of  the  foliage  before  the  h  avcs  drop.     Even 
in  the  winter,  the  masses  of  evergreens  against  the 
snow  make  the  Arboretum  almost  as  beautiful  as  at  any 
other  time  of  the  year.    Hemlock  Hill,  which  is  covered 
with  an  old  growth  of  pine  and  hemlocks,  is  one  of  the 
notable  features  of  the  Arboretum.     The  trees  are  so 
high  and  so  thick  that  even  in  midsummer  the  sun's  rays 
do  not  penetrate,  and  the  ground  is  covered  with  the 
needles  and  with  a  few  ferns  and  other  f.  -uts  which 
can  get  along  without  the  sun. 

There  is  no  regular  instruction  at  the  i-boretum, 
though  there  is  always  a  chance  for  study  under  the 
director  and  his  staff  for  advanced  students  in  botany, 
and  there  is  a  good  deal  of  resort  to  the  collections,' 
whether  out  of  doors  or  in  the  building,  for  advanced 
,  scientific  study.  Everj-  year  one  of  the  staff  conducts 
popular  classes  in  dendrology  for  a  moderate  fee,  but 
there  are  no  examinations. 

Louis    Agassiz's    original    vision    of    the   University 
Museum  included  means  fur  the  study  not  only  of  the 


\  I 


THE  PEAliODY  MUSEUM 


277 


rarth  on  which  man  lives  and  of  the  plant  and  animal 
life  by  which  he  is  surrounded,  but  also  of  man  himself 
isnd  the  conditions  under  which  he  has  drawn  near  to 
tiic  threshold  of  civilization ;  and  he  had  himself  brought 
together  a  beginning  of  the  collections  in  archaeology, 
and  in  his  plan  for  the  Museum  he  assigned  a  whole 
wing  to  anthropological  and  ethnological  collections. 

The  beginning  of  the  fulfillment  of  this  part  of  his 
lilans  was  made  possible  by  a  gift  of  $150,000  in  1866 
from  Mr.  George  I'cabody,  the  banker,  of  London.  In 
liis  letter  of  gift  Mr.  Pcabody  provided  that  $45,000 
was  to  be  set  aside  for  the  endowment  of  a  professorship, 
$45,000  more  for  maintaining  the  Museum  and  increas- 
ing its  collections;  the  remaining  .$60,000  was  to  ac- 
cumulate until  it  amounted  to  $100,000,  and  then  be 
used  for  building.  In  1877  the  latter  fund  had  reached 
the  amount  prescribed  by  ]\Ir.  Peabody,  and  the  first 
section  of  the  Peabody  Museum  of  American  Arehte- 
ology  and  Ethnology  was  built.  In  1890  another  .sec- 
tion was  added;  and  the  final  section,  which  will  con- 
nect the  Peabody  Museum  with  the  rest  of  the  Ikluseum, 
is  now  under  construction. 

The  collections  had  made  a  good  start  even  before 
the  first  section  of  the  building  was  ready  to  receive 
them.  Not  only  had  Louis  Agassiz  brought  over  from 
Switzerland  a  number  of  objects  from  the  ancient  pile- 
structures  of  Lake  Neuehatel,  but  Professor  Jeffries 
Wyman,  the  first  Curator,  who  for  the  time  was  highly 
trained  in  comparative  anatomy,  had  brought  together 
a  number  of  specimens  to  illustrate  the  structure  of  the 
various  races  of  man.  AYith  eat  .  addition  to  its  build- 
ing the  Museum  has  been  in  the  position  of  having  col- 
lections ready  to  fill  a  considerable  portion  of  the  new 
space. 


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278 


KQIII'MENT  FOR  RESEARCH 


The  Museum  is  arranged  geogrnpliieally,  and  as  is  fit- 
tinpr.  the  regions  which  have  most  space  are  North  and 
Central  America.  A  largo  room  is  given  to  the  Indian 
tribes  of  the  Northern  United  States  and  Canada,  an- 
other to  the  Indians  of  the  Southwest,  and  another  to 
specimens  and  easts  from  Central  America  Besides 
these,  a  large  gallery  is  filled  with  objects  from  the 
islands  of  the  Pacific,  and  there  are  extensive  collections 
from  South  America,  and  an  excellent  though  far  from 
exhaustive  one  from  Africa.  The  Museum  is  strong  in 
objects  from  the  Stone  Age  all  over  the  world. 

A  large  part  of  the  distinction  of  the  Museum  comes 
from  the  fact  that  three  generations  ago  Boston  and 
Salem  were  the  center  of  a  commerce  which  ranged  all 
over  the  world.  The  old  sea-captains  were  in  the  habit 
of  bringing  home  "  curiosities,"  many  of  which  found 
their  way  to  the  Boston  Marine  Society,  the  Boston  So- 
ciety of  Natural  History,  the  Boston  Atlienieum,  and 
the  American  Antiijuarian  Society.  These  institutions, 
as  their  buildings  became  crowded  and  their  own  pur- 
poses more  distinct,  turned  over  many  of  these  objects 
to  the  Peabody  Museum,  where  they  can  be  studied,  and 
where,  by  being  brought  together  with  other  similar 
objects,  they  take  on  new  value.  Another  source  from 
which  the  Museum  received  priceless  and  irreplaceable 
objects  was  the  collection  which  used  to  form  part  of 
the  old  Boston  Museum,  occupying  the  galleries  on  the 
way  in  to  the  theater.  Among  those  collections,  which 
^  were  given  to  the  Peabody  Museum  by  the  heirs  of  the 
late  David  Kimball,  wore  a  considerable  number  of  ob- 
jects brought  home  by  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and 
Clark  to  Oregon  in  1804-06.  The  Museum  also  has  the 
great  Hemenway  collection  of  potterj'  and  other  objects 
from  the  Indians  of  the  Southwest,  and  a  very  beautiful 


THE  PEAHODY  MUSEUM 


279 


and  complete  collection  of  baskctwork,  lurgt'ly  from 
tho  Pacific  coast,  given  by  Mr.  Lewis  II.  Farlow.  Not 
tilt'  least  interesting  of  the  objects  from  the  American 
Indians  is  the  only  extant  bow  of  a  Massachusetts  In- 
dian, which,  it  is  noted,  was  taken  from  an  aborigine  in 
Sudbury,  in  1660,  by  William  Goodnough,  who  shot 
iiim. 

Among  the  other  collections  arc  very  beautiful  feath- 
er-work from  the  islands  of  the  Pacific  and  from  South 
America,  weapons  and  canoes  from  the  South  Sea 
Islands,  and  a  great  variety  of  native  textiles  from  all 
over  the  world,  including  many  ceremonial  pieces  which 
cannot  now  be  dui)licatcd. 

In  the  second  floor  is  a  hall  devoted  to  casts  of  the 
carvings  from  the  temples  of  Central  America  belonging 
to  the  Maya  cult,  with  smaller  objects  found  in  the 
ruins.  The  Museum  is  particularly  rich  in  this  direc- 
tion, since  it  has  sent  a  series  of  expeditions  to  explore 
the  ruins  hidden  in  the  jungle.  Some  of  the  metal-work 
and  the  ornaments  of  somi-precious  stones,  like  jade, 
are  of  considerable  beauty. 

The  collections  are  arranged  in  such  a  way  as  to  be 
intelligible  to  the  public,  which  comes  to  the  Museum  in 
preat  numbers.  In  the  American  Indian  room  there 
are  models  of  villages  showing  how  the  people  lived; 
and  even  in  the  present  crowding  of  the  eases  the  beauty 
of  many  of  the  objects  is  apparent. 

The  Museum  exists  primarily,  liowever,  for  purposes 
of  research  and  instruction.  It  has  a  large  collection  of 
skulls  for  anthropological  study,  and  many  other  objects 
of  various  kinds  than  are  shown  in  the  cases.  The  li- 
brary 13  extensive  and  valuable ;  it  now  has  about  4000 
volumes  and  3500  pamphlets,  all  relating  to  the  purposes 
of  the  Museum. 


1^.     « 


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280 


ECil'II'MKNT  FOR  RKSKARCII 


TIh'  Dcpartnitnt  of  Antlinipolo^n',  which  is  closely  ro- 
lati-d  to  the  Muscuni.  t,'ivos  instnn-tiun  both  to  under- 
graduates and  jjraduates.  In  l!n2-i:{  there  were  eleven 
rcguhir  eoursrs,  besides  six  courses  of  research. 

The  Museum  is  poverned  by  its  own  Faculty,  which 
makes  nominations  to  the  President  and  Fellows  to  fill 
vacancies.  The  President  of  the  Fniversity  is  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Faculty,  and  tiie  Peahody  Professor  of 
American  A rciueolopy  and  Ethnoloijy,  wlio  is  al.so 
Curator  of  the  ^luseum.  is  always  a  member.  The 
Faculty  have  several  funds  at  their  disposal  for  research 
and  the  purchase  of  specimens. 


I't 


The  history  of  astronomy  at  Harvard,  in  a  certain 
sense,  goes  back  to  the  very  earliest  days  of  the  Col- 
lege; for  it  is  recorded  that,  of  the  forty-four  American 
almanacs  before  1G87  which  arc  now  extant,  fort^  one 
were  prepared  by  twenty-six  graduates  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege, of  whom  ten  were  tutors.  The  almanacs  were  pub- 
lished in  nearly  every  case  during  the  three  years  of 
graduate  study  for  the  degree  of  Master  of  Art.s,  and 
it  is  thought  that  tl'e  .  o!'  tionr>  in  t'-em  may  have  l)een 
part  of  the  preparation  for  that  degree.  The  Ptolemaic 
system  still  survived,  and  as  late  as  168(5,  Nathaniel 
iMather  (A.B.  1G85).  who  prepared  the  calendar  for 
that  year,  argued  Tor  the  adoption  of  the  Copernican 
system.* 

In  the  next  century  John  Winthrop.  Ilollis  Professor 
of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy  from  1738  to 
1779,  carried  on  much  research  in  astronomy.  In  1761 
he  made  an  expedition  to  Newfoundland  to  make  obser- 
vation on  the  transit  of  Venus,  and  the  results  of  this 

'  r.  T.,  Xi<'!ui!H.  f'rr.rrrfJings  r.f  the  Amcrk-in  Antiquarian  So- 
cicly,  ^ow  Seriea,  vol.  xiii. 


If 


THE  OMSKRVATOIiY 


281 


I  xpi'dition  and  of  othi-r  obstrvations  were  publislu'd  iu 
till'  Metnoirs  ol"  tiie  Koyal  Society.  Professor  Win- 
iliroi)'s  tt'lcscoji.  now  stands  under  his  portrait  in  the 
Faculty  room.  When  Harvard  Hall  was  burned,  in 
1704,  among  other  losses  are  recorded  several  telescopes, 
i>iie  of  them  twenty-four  feet  long,  and  a  brass  ({uadrant 
of  two  feet  railius,  carrj'ing  a  telescope  of  greater  length 
which  had  formerly  belonged  to  the  celebrated  Dr. 
Hailey. 

It  was  not  until  the  nineteenth  century,  however,  that 
an  effort  was  made  to  establish  a  regular  astronomical 
observatory  at  Harvard.  In  181G  John  B^irrar,  Ilollis 
Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy,  and 
.Nathaniel  Howditeh,  the  auth(»r  of  the  New  American 
I'ractical  Naviuaior,  and  translator  and  annotator  of 
Laplace's  Mtcaniquc  (U'leste,  were  appointed  by  the 
(.'orporation  a  committee  to  order  instruments  for  the 
observatory;  but  the  project  fell  through.  In  1822  the 
same  committee  examined  various  places  near  the  Col- 
lege to  find  one  suitable  for  an  observatory.  The  next 
year  John  Quincy  Adams,  then  Secretary'  of  State  of  the 
United  States,  wrote  to  a  member  of  the  Corporation, 
to  urge  the  building  of  an  observatory,  and  he  offered 
.$10(J0,  anonymously,  for  the  undertaking,  with  a  limi- 
tation of  two  years.  When  this  offer  had  no  results,  he 
renewed  it  in  1825,  but  again  in  vain,  and  the  plan  for 
an  observatory  slumbered  until  1839. 

In  that  year  William  Cranch  Bond,  who  had  been 
engaged  in  astronomical  work  for  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  was  appointed  .\stronomieal  Observer 
at  the  University.  He  had  already  a  considerable 
equipment  of  instruments,  which  were  bought  by  sub- 
scription for  the  University.  The  house  provided  for 
the  Observatory  was  the  wooden  house  still  standing  on 


r  i 


i    I 


li. 


282  EQUIPMEXT  FOR  RESEARCH 

the  corner  of  Quinoy   and   Harvard  streets,   forraerh 

oeeupu-d  1^'  Dr.  Andrew  P.  Peabody,  now  the  honie  ol 

Professor  George  Herbert  Palmer.    On  the  roof  of  thi. 

hou.se  a  eupola  was  ereeted,  with  a  revolving  dome.    The 

mendian  line  of  the  tran.sit  instrument  intersected  the 

top  of  BIuo  Hdl  in  M.lton,  eleven  miles  away,  and  there 

a  substantial  monument  was  ereet.-d  as  a  means  for  the 

adjustment  and  verification  of  the  instruments.     It  is 

related   that  after  the   Observatory   was  established  a 

barn  was  hu.lt.  wi.ich  cut  off  the  view  of  Blue  Hill,  and 

that  ,t  wa.s  necessarj'  to  buy  a  right  of  way.  or  rather 

ot  sight,  through  the  loft  of  the  barn,  in  order  to  re- 

store  the  view  of  the  monument. 

Interest  in  the  Astronomical  Obsen'ator^-  was  greatly 
uKM-eased  1^-  the  appearance  of  the  fammis  comet  o^ 
1H43  and  the  popular  interest  in  this  event  made  it 
possible  to  raise  a  eonsideral)le  sum,  and  to  order  from 
Merz  an.l  Mahler  of  Munich  a  15-inch  equator  a^ 
teleseop.  At  the  time  this  instrument  was  mounted,  Tn 
84     ,t  had  no  superior  and  but  one  equal  in  the  world. 

"hih   TT"^  '''"'  '"'  '^'^"  ^«"^h^  '-  the  hill  on 
^^hleh   the   Observatorj-  now  stands,   and   a  building 

handsome  and  adequate  for  the  time,  erected  to  reS 

td  ^1840,7'"';     '^''''"  instruments  were  added, 
and  in  1849  the  astronomical  work  at  the  University 

fL     A  'n  ^  T?,^''''  ''-''  *'''  "'^'^"^■"'t  «f  *1 00,000  from 
Edward   Rromfield   Phillips.     In   1845   Mr.   Bond  wa^ 
made  Director  of  the  Observatory-.     Ho  has  be  n  sue 
oeeded    m    the    Dire.torship    successively    by   his    son 
George   Ph.  Hp,    b,„,.   f,,^    ,,.^  ^^   ^       -     ^'S     « 

Joseph  W.nloek.  from  1866  to  1875;  and  Pr;fes  or  Ed 
ward  Charles  Pickering,  who  has  son.d  /nJeTm 

The  Astronomical  Observatory  is  conducted  wholly' for 
research.    Instruction  in  astronomy  for  undergraduates 


THE  OBSERVATORY 


283 


is  provided  fur  h\  ;.  .stparate  depiutincnt,  which  has  a 
small,    though    adc{iuate,    observatory    of   its    own    on 
Holmes  Field.     The  general  policy  of  the  Astronomical 
Oi)servatory  since  the  beginning  has  been  the  develop- 
ment of  the  n'-^-^ical  side  of  astronomy;  so  that  its  staff 
lias  been  c  iii)i()yod  eiii.'fly  in  determining  the  brightness, 
s|)ectra,  a  d  other  physical  properties  of  the  stars.     It 
has  been     -o  a  distinct  part  of  its  policy  to  undertake 
routine  investigations  on  an   extensive  scale,   some   of 
them  occupying  many  years.     Examples  of  such  inves- 
tigations are  the  studies  of  the  standard  positions  and 
of  the  proper  motions  of  the  stars  in  the  zone  4-50"  to 
+  55°  and  in  the  zone  —10°  to  —14° ;  the  former  con- 
taining 8G27  stars,  the  latter  8337.     Each  of  these  in- 
vestigations occupied  the  time  of  the  observers,  Professor 
Rogers  and  Professor  Searle,  and  a  corps  of  computers 
for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  the  results  fill  eleven 
of  the  quarto  volumes  of  the  Annah  of  the  Observatory. 
In  recent  yeai-s  the  Observatory  has  devoted  a  large 
part  of  its  activity  to  photography,  both  of  the  stars 
and  of  their  spectra,     in  order  to  make  the  work  com- 
plete, it  established  a  station  in  Peru  for  observation 
of  tlie  stars  of  the  Southern  Hemisphere.    With  the  aid 
of  this  station,  it  has  now  over  200,000  photographic 
plates,   representing   the   whole   sky    for  thirty    years. 
These  plates  constitute  an  invaluable  record,  for  they 
make  it  possible  to  follow  back  the  history  of  new  stars 
or  other  objects  before  their  discovery  by  the  telescope. 
In  many  cases  the  photographic  record  throws  most  im- 
portant light  on  the  nature  of  the  new  object.    For  ex- 
ample, on  :\Iarch  12,  1912,  a  new  star  was  discovered  in 
Norway.    Word  was  sent  by  cable  to  the  Observatory  in 
Cambridge,   and  the  news  distributed   thence  through 
America  i  so  that  on  the  next  night  many  observers 


;•  (I 


(I 


^;  ii 


A  \ 


i'   : 


2S4  E(,)riI>ME.\T  FOR  RESEAKCII 

Avorc  looking  for  it.    I»  thr  nioantimo,  scarcl,  was  made 

in  tlio  library  „r  photo^n-aphs.    Two  plates  of  the  region 

aken  on  tl.r  ]Oth  of  .Man-h  showe.l  no  si^n  of  tho  star 

Hit  on  tun  ,.lat.  s  tak.n  on  tlu-  1  Itl.  it  app.aro.l  at  nearly' 

uU  l,n,.htn(>ss.    A  pLotoj-raph  of  its  spectra  on  Mareh 

JS  showctl  that  it  closely  resein'.Ied  an  onlinary  star  but 

on  March  U  hrif,^ht  lines  appeared  in  its  speetru.M,'and 

on    Marcli    17    the    spectrum    ],a,l    entirely    changed. 

Through  investigations  of  this  sort,  made  possible  by 

these  i)hotographic   records,  invaluable   light   has   been 

thrown  on  tlu;  new  stars. 

Another  very  extensive  undertaking  by  the  Observa- 
7i^^V      '^^^^"""'"'■•t'««  «f  the  standard  magnitudes 

onnXn  "'"""-     ^''^'  '"''^'  "'^"'''^  "^^"'^'^^^  '"«^^  tl'an 
2.000.000  settings  ot   the  photometers,  occupied   thirtv 

years.     Another  long  undertaking,  which  has  had  moJt 

important  scientific  results,  J.as  been  the  photographing 

ot  the  spectra  of  all  the  stars  and  the  examination  of 

he  photographs.     Mrs.  Fleming,  who  was  in  charge  of 

the  examination  of  the  photographs   for  a  number  of 

years,  untrl  her  death  in  l!)ll,  had  discovered  10  of  the 

1.)  new  siars  which  were  diseovennl  all  over  the  world 

dunng  her  period  of  service.     The  Observatory  is  now 

iindertakmg  a  catalogue  of  the  spectra  of  about  200  000 

sars    according  to  a  new  system   which  involves 'the 

olassifieatmn  of  the  spectra,  the  photometric  magnitude 

and  the  i.hotographic  magnitude.    Miss  Cannon,  who  is 

in  charge  of  the  work,  by  .skillful  application  of  time- 

savnig  devices,  is  able  to  classify  about  200  stars  a  day 

but  It  IS  probable  that  even  at  this  rate  the  work  will 

occupy  five  or  six  years.     Th(>  photographs  of  the  .stars 

and  of  their  spectra  constitute  a  mass  of  material  of  per- 

inanent  value  such  as  is  possessed  by  no  other  observa- 

tory  in  the  world,  and  this  material  is  likely  to  be  more 


THE  OBSERVATORY 


285 


acd  more  used  i'or  referenco  as  tiim.-  goes  on.  TIio 
01)  rvatory  is  the  central  statiun  lor  the  distribution 
ol'  astrononiical  news  in  America. 

The  equipment  of  the  Observatory  now  consists  of 
the  original  15-inch  equatorial,  the  meridian  circle, 
whose  work  in  its  present  form  may  be  regarded  as  com- 
pleted, a  2-4-inch  reiiecter,  a  12-inch  meridian  photom- 
eter, and  the  two  Draper  telescopes,  an  11-inch  and  an 
H-ineh.  In  addition,  there  has  recently  been  set  up  in 
Cambridge  a  16-inch  doublet,  made  by  the  Reverend 
Joel  H.  Metcalf  of  Winchester,  who  is  not  only  dis- 
tinguished as  an  astronomer  for  his  obsc  /ations  on  the 
asteroid,  but  is  also  a  very  skillful  maker  of  instrument  • 
The  contribution  which  he  has  made  through  his  woik 
on  this  instrument  represents  a  considerable  gift  to  the 
Observatory. 

Besides  the  establishment  at  Cambridge,  the  Obser- 
vatory maintains  a  station  at  Arequipa,  Peru.     This 
establishment  in  South  America  was  made  possible  by 
a  fund  left  by  the  late  Uriah  A.  Boyden  to  citablish  an 
observing  station  at  an  altitude  where  the  atmospheric 
conditions   would   be  especially   favorable.     The   fund 
was  transferred  by  the  Trustees  to  the  Observatory  in 
1887,  and  a  careful  investigation  of  meteorological  and 
climatic   conditions   was   made   which   resulted   in   the 
choice  of  Arequipa.    Here  are  kept  a  24-inch  telescope, 
the  gift  of  the  late  .Miss  Catherine  W.  Bruce  of  New 
York;  a  13-inch  telescope  from  the  Boyden  fund;  an 
H-ineh  telescope  and  a  4-inch  meridian  photometer.  Over 
r)0,000  photographs  have  already  been  taken  at  the  sta- 
tion  at   Arequipa.     Besides  the  astronomical   observa- 
tions, a  long  series  of  meteorological  observations  has 
been  made,  which  for  several  years  were  carried  on  at 
a  line  of  stations  reaching  from  the  Pacific  over  the 


I.  !l 


'I-  .1 


•Ml 


286 


E(rv'll'MENT  FOR  RESEARCH 


I'  i   '    ^ 
I   '    i 


Andes  to  the  valley  of  the  Amazon  The  highest  of  these 
was  on  the  mountam  known  as  E  4i,  19,200  feet  high 
above  sea-hvel. 

Tlie  Lil)rary  of  the  Observatory  now  contains  nearly 
H,000  volumes  and  3;j,0(J0  pamphlets. 

A  most  important  part  of  the  work  done  by  the  Ob- 
servatory eonsists  in  its  publications,  which  include  the 
results  of  work  done  not  only  by  its  own  staff,  but  by 
other  scientific  men,  and  which  include  also  meteoro- 
logical observations.  Nearly  eighty  of  the  quarto 
volumes  of  the  Aniiah  have  now  been  published,  and 
they  are  appearing  at  the  rate  of  several  volumes  a  year. 
The  total  publication  of  this  Observatory  is  e(iual  in 
amount  to  the  [)ublications  of  all  the  other  observatories 
in  America,  except  those  of  the  Xaval  Observatory  at 
Washington.  The  materials  thus  published  have  put  at 
the  disposal  of  astronomers  throughout  the  world  an 
enormous  amount  of  exact  data  for  future  study. 

The  endowment  of  the  Observatory  amounts  now  to 
nearly  a  million  dollars.  The  largest  gifts  have  been 
the  Phillips  fund,  received  in  1849;  the  bequest  of 
Robert  Treat  Paine  (A.B.  1822),  amounting  to 
$164,000,  received  in  1885,  and  the  Boyden  fund, 
amounting  to  $238,000.  which  became  available  in  ISSt! 
Besides  these  funds,  the  Observatory  has  received  since 
1886  an  annual  gift  of  $10,000  from  Mrs.  Draper  of 
New  York,  in  memory  of  her  husband,  to  continue  the 
research  which  he  had  begun  on  the  spectra  and  other 
physical  properties  of  the  stars. 

The  income  of  a  large  part  of  those  funds  is  unre- 
stricted to  specific  purposes;  so  that  the  Director  can 
carry  out  the  policy  of  the  Observatory  of  using  its 
income  for  the  promotion  of  the  science  of  astronomy 
wherever  it  will  do  the  most  good.     It  has  therefore 


THE  OBSERVATORY 


287 


made  frequent  grants  for  special  undertakings  to  ob- 
iservcrs  in  various  parts  of  this  country  and  in  Europe. 
Jt  Jias  also  carried  on  a  number  of  cooperative  under- 
takings. An  interesting  example  of  the  latter  is  the  aid 
which  it  is  now  giving  to  Professor  Kapteyn,  the  great 
Dutch  astronomer  at  Grouingen,  in  his  studies  of  the 
faint  stars  in  selected  areas  of  the  sky.  The  Observa- 
tory has  used  its  instruments  both  at  Jambridge  and  in 
I'eru  for  making  photographs  of  these  areas  for  him; 
and  when  his  studies  are  completed  they  will  be  pub- 
lislied  in  its  Annals.  It  is  expected  that  the  total  num- 
ber of  stars  thus  measured  by  Professor  Kapteyn  will 
be  about  300,000,  and  that  they  will  fill  five  volumes 
of  the  Annals.  Again,  wiien  the  Canadian  Survey  was 
making  a  series  of  determinations  of  longitude  around 
the  earth,  the  Observatory  at  Cambridge  was  able  to 
provide  a  building  and  all  the  facilities  for  the  obser- 
vations to  be  made  here. 

The  staff  of  the  Observatory  now  consists  of  about 
forty  persons,  most  of  whom  are  occupied  in  investigat- 
ing the  photographs  and  in  reducing  the  observations 
find  studies  to  form  for  publication.  Ail  the  modern 
devices  of  business  engineering  have  been  adopted,  to 
save  time  and  expense. 

The  University  has  three  establishments  for  the  study 
of  the  fine  arts  and  archaeology:  the  William  Hayes 
Fogg  Art  Museum,  the  Germanic  Museum,  and  the 
Semitic  Museum.  Of  these  the  Fogg  .Aluseum  and  the 
Semitic  Maseum  already  liave  buildings  especially 
freeted  for  them,  and  the  Germanic  ^Museum  has  a  fund 
and  plans  for  a  building  which  will  be  erected  within 
a  .short  time. 

The  William  Hayes  Fogg  Art  Museum  has  good  ma- 


i 


288 


KQIIP.AIKNT  FOK  HESK.M.'CII 


i 


terial  for  t!ic  study  of  Crock  and  Roman  art  in  the  form 
both  of  easts  and  of  original  works  of  art.  Tliore  are 
casts  of  a  number  of  the  important  works  of  classical 
sculpture,  and  a  considerable  collection  of  electrotypes 
from  Greek  and  Roman  coins.  The  original  works  con- 
si.st  of  a  small  but  important  collection  of  marbles,  in- 
cluding a  fine  marble  statue  of  Meleager  and  an  Aphro- 
dite, a  small  collection  of  Greek  vases,  fragments  of 
Arretine  molds  and  .sptvimens  of  the  ware,  and  a  few 
torra-cotta  figurines.  For  the  mediaeval  and  Renais- 
sance epochs  there  are  '^ome  casts  of  sculpture  and  a 
small  collection  of  early  Italian  paintings  containing 
good  examples  of  the  various  important  schools.  The 
Museum  has  also  a  few  original  drawings  by  old  mas- 
ters. For  the  later  period  there  arc  a  number  of  draw- 
ings and  several  very  fine  water-color  drawings  by  J. 
M.  W.  Turner. 

The  most  distinguished  pos.sessions  of  the  Fogg  Mu- 
seum, however,  are  the  prints  in  the  Gray  and  Randall 
collections.  The  number  or  prints  is  now  very  large, 
and  there  are  many  which  are  rare,  and  many  fine  ira- 
pres.sions.  The  collection  is  administered  in  close  coop- 
eration with  the  Department  of  Prints  at  the  Boston 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  and  an  arrangement  has  recently 
been  made  by  which  the  curator  of  that  colleciion  will 
give  each  year  a  course  on  prints  at  Harvard.  For  pur- 
poses of  study  the  Fogg  Museum  has  a  large  collection 
of  photographs,  now  well  over  40,000,  of  works  of  art 
of  all  epochs  and  countries. 

From  time  to  time  the  Director  of  the  Museum  ar- 
ranges loan  exhibitions  of  special  periods  or  schools  of 
art.  In  this  way  the  Museum  is  able  to  show  important 
works  of  Oriental  art,  including  paintings,  prints,  and 
sculpture,  or  exhibitions  of  a  single  artist's  work. 


THE  GERMA>;iC  MUSEUM 


289 


The  close  proximity  of  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine 
Arts  and  the  intimate  relations  which  are  niaiutaineil 
with  it  make  it  possible  to  use  its  collections  also  for 
instruction  in  the  Fine  Arts.  At  this  Museum  there  are 
frequent  loan  exhibitions  in  which  are  showr  some  of 
the  fine  paintings  owned  by  private  collectors  in  Boston. 

Tue  Germanic  Museum  was  established  in  1902  to  il- 
lustrate, by  means  of  plaster  casts  and  other  kinds  of 
reproduction,  the  development  of  Germanic  art  and 
culture.  It  is  at  present  temporarily  installed  in  the 
Rogers  building;  but  the  cornerstone  of  a  large  new 
I)uilding,  given  by  Adolphus  Busch  of  St.  Louis,  has 
been  laid  and  the  money  is  in  hand  to  proceed  with 
construction,  which  has  already  been  begun.  The  plans 
have  been  drawn  for  a  large  building,  to  consist  of 
three  portions,  each  illustrating  a  period  of  German 
architecture.  It  will  be  of  ample  dimensions  to  hold 
full-sized  casts  of  gateways  and  of  equestrian  statues  of 
heroic  size. 

The  collections  of  the  Germanic  Museum  are  largely 
the  fruit  of  gifts  from  the  German  Emperor,  who  has 
taken  a  great  personal  interest  in  the  enterprise,  from 
the  King  of  Saxony,  from  the  Prince  Regent  of  Bavaria, 
and  from  a  committee  of  leading  Germans  at  Berlin.' 
The  Swiss  government  and  r  .e  municipal  government 
of  the  city  of  xXuremberg  have  also  made  important 
gifts. 

The  casts  and  reproductions  illustrate  representative 
works  of  German  industry  from  the  fifth  to  the  nine- 
teenth century.  Among  the  architectural  easts  are  those 
of  the  Bernward  Column  and  the  bronze  gates  at  Hildes- 
hcim  Cathedral,  of  the  eleventh  century;  the  Golden 
Gate  of  Freiburg  Cathedral,  of  the  thirteenth  century; 


I.     I 


n  1) 


h 


290 


E(^['IPME\T  FOR  RFSEARCII 


I  I 


I  S   I 


!.  ..   i 


the  Rood  Scroon  and  twelve  portrait  statues  from  th( 
iNaumburg  Cathedral;  the  equestrian  statue  of  the  Em 
peror  Konrad  III,  in  Bamberg  Cathcdrel,  of  the  thir 
teenth  eenturv;  the  tomb  of  Emperor  Ludvig  of  Ba 
varia.  in  the  Church  of  Our  Lady  at  Munich,  about 
1468;  and  several  largo  statues  of  the  eighteenth  and 
nineteenth  centuries.  Besides  these,  there  arc  fifty-five 
reproductions  of  representative  specimens  of  C.erman 
goldsmith  and  silversmith's  work  by  the  galvanoplastic 
process,  which  reproduces  the  metal  surface. 

The  Germanic  Museum  Association  is  not  confined  to 
ilarvard,  but  includes  Germans  and  persons  interested 
in  G.'rmanie  culture  all  over  the  country.  Its  headquar- 
ters are  at  Cambridge  and  its  chief  purpose  is  to  main- 
tain the  Germanic  Museum  of  Ilarvard  University. 

The  Semitic  Museum  was  founded  by  Jacob  II  Sehiff 
of  New  York  in  1889,  and  in  1902  he  gave  the  Museum 
hudding  on  Divinity  Avenue.    This  building  is  the  seat 
of  instruction  in  Semitic  languages  and  history-;  it  has 
a  library  and  three  lecture-rooms,  besides  the  Museum 
proper,  which  is  on  the  second  and  third  floors  of  the 
budding.    On  the  second  floor  is  the  Assyrian  room   with 
a  large  eolleetion  of  casts  of  Assyrian,  Babylonian,  and 
Hitt.te  bas-rehefs  and  monuments,  made  from  originals 
in  various  museums  of  Europe.    It  has  also  a  consider- 
able number  of  original  .stone  and  clay  tablets  with  in- 
scriptions m  the  cuneiform  script,  a  number  of  cylinder 
seals,  and  various  other  objects  in  bronze,  clay,  and  stone 
from  the  region  of  Babylon  and  As.syria.     The  Pales 
tinian  eolleetion.  on  the  third  floor,  contains  objects 

E^nt  pH  '-'"o  '^'  "^'^hboring  eountrios,  Arabia. 
Egypt,  Phoenicia,  Syria,  and  Persia,  all  of  which  had 
strong  influence  on  the  history  and  the  civilization  of 


11  '• 


THE  HARVARD  irxiVERSITY  PRESS  291 
the  pcopl,.  „f  Inrael.  Among  these  object,  there  are  in- 
«eript.ons,   coins,   pottery,    bronzes,   and   a   nun.ber  of 

Z  nir  n  ''^''''"''P^^''  ^'^d  «P^"cimons  illustrating 
the  natural  lustory  of  the  region.  There  are  also  models 
showing  the  construction  of  the  successive  temples  at 
Jerusalem.     Besides   the.se   objects   for   exhibition   and 

\  ;  ,  •'  '  i^"'.'"'"  ^"^  ^''««  «  valuable  collection  of 
azaijie  and  Synae  manuscripts. 

For  a  good  many  years  the  University  l.as  maintained 

many  official  publications  of  the  University,  including 
U^e  Annual  Catalogue,  the  Quinguennial  Catalogue  0} 
Graduates,  the  Harvard  University  Directory,  the  va- 
nous  department  announcements,  and  the  periodical 
publications  of  a  consi.lerable  number  of  the  depart- 
nients  In  addition  to  this  very  considerable  amount  of 
periodical  publication,  the  Publication  Office  ha 
hroug,^  out  more  than  80  volumes,  most  of  them  be! 
long  ng  to  various  series  for  which  some  of  the  depart- 
ments have  endowment  funds.  ^ 

In  1913  the  Publication  Office  ^^ns  formally  reorgan- 
ized as  the  Hai-vard  University  Press,  which  undertakes 
the  publishing  of  works  of  high  scholarly  character  be! 
sides  continuing  the  work  of  the  Publication  Office  in 
printing  and  issuing  great  numbers  of  strictly  Univer- 
•sity  publications.  It  is  hoped  that  the  Press  will  receive 
a  .sufficient  endowment  to  set  up  a  considerable  printing 
plant  of  Its  own.  with  fonts  of  type  in  various  languages 
0  that  It  can  gather  skilled  compositors  and  undertake 

he  n^"  t  ?'°.^  "i  ^''"^''^  ''''^''  ^h^^h  otherwise  must 
be  printed  abroad.  At  present  the  printing  presses  are 
m  the  basement  of  University  Hall,  and  much  of  the 
work  of  priming  is  let  out. 


iii 


I  ''1 


IN  ' 


It 


2J>2  EQriI>MEXT  FOR  RESEARCH 

It  is  difficult  to  mako  clear  in  such  a  work  as  tin. 

ad  .n  V    "  '"'"*  ""'vorsity.    The  professors  and 

in  field,  as  yet  unexplored,  and  any  active  university  is 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a  fringe  of  in  vest  Ration 
pus  un,  out  .nto  the  unknown.    So.e  general  id^  1" 
^t  1  ad  ut  these  activities  by  making  a  list  of  the  regular 

ixrtd    that   these   are   very   far   from   exhausting  the 
contifie  output,  since  a  great  many  of  the  prod  ets 
the  laboratories  and  libraries  appear  in  learned  Dubli 
catums  which  are  not  connected  with  the  Unlversit' 

The  regu  arly  established  publications  by  various  de 
partmonts  include  the  following  — 

In  Philology  and  Literature  there  is  a  Semitic  series 
^hieh   consKsts  of  occasional  volumes  in   the  fiekl   of 
Sonimc  philology.  literature,  history,  and  religion    Th 
a  new  series  with  only  one  or  two  numbers     In  Ind 
I  Inlology    here  are  13  volumes  of  the  Harvard  Oriental 
ones,  dealing  with  works  in  Sanskrit  and  oilier  E 
Ind  an  languages.    Of  the  Harvard  Studies  in  cTasSa 

now  i  volumes.  The  Studie.  and  Notes  in  Philology 
and  Literature  are  issued  under  the  direction  of  th^ 
Division  of  Modern  Languages,  and  of  these  1  volumes 
have  been  issued.  Of  the  Harvard  Stu  L  in  Cmn 
parative  Literature  three  volumes  have  aire  dy  a"' 
Peared    and  of  the  Harvard  Studies  in  Eng  sh  two' 

tori 'r  sf  r'  ''""^"^'  •^^■■^'"^'^ "- "--  d  s: 

torical    Studies    are    supported    by    the    Henry    War 

t  fs  ':7e7    Th"e'H"'   '^  ;^'"'"^^  ^^^  ^PP^-^^n  " 
iim  series.     The  Harvard  Economic  Studies  are  also 
endowed,  and  of  these  eight  volumes  have  now  ap'Lred 


DEPARTMENT  PrHLlCATIOXS  293 

Tl'i'    Division    or    History    an.l    Politic,.!    Sdonee    also 

n  uch  20  voluna-s  have  In-on  iss.u.l.  In  ehnnistry  and 
1  'vsK-s  the  results  of  rosean-lu-s  made  by  both  x 
>  ruetors  and  student,  are  published  in  various  ci  u- 
'^'-  lournals.  In  psyeholoKy  two  volun.es  of  the  ar- 
-'•<!  1  syeholoj^ieal  Studies,  published  annually  by  the 
'I'  rvard  Psyeholo.ieal  Laboratory,  have  appeLl  I^ 
"■•'tural  seK.ne..  the  Contributions  fron.  the  Gray  II.M-" 
'-•nun  o  Harvard  University  have  reached  4,"  c^ 
■■^.  and    here  arc  no«-  sixty-five  numbers  of  Contribu- 

T-.too  The  Arnold  Arboretum  issues  from  time  to 
»■"!;'  1^"  '"t.n.s  of  Popular  Information  about  the  plants 
jn  .  s  colieet^on.    I  have  spoKen  elsewhere  of  the  Bra"ey 

:     -graphy,  and  of  Professor  Sar,enf,s  great  SiU-a  of 

^ot     A>ncnca.     The  Museum  of  Con.parative  Zoology 

i...s  issued  52  volumes  of  its  BulUHus  and  75  volumes 

;•'  >ts  .1/..,...,     The  Zoologieal  Laboratory,  wholpa 

•J-    are    publ.shed    in    p„,t    in    the    B.Min    J  Z 

^"Tib  d^  T'  '''  r'''''  '''  '''  Contributi^" 
1  0  l.abody  Museum  of  Ameriean  Areha^ologv  and 
L  Lnology  has  issued  17  nund.ors  of  areha>ologi;;i  and 

nolog^oal  papers  and   14   nun.bers   of  .l/cJ. J,   b" 
sules  some  special  publications. 
From  the  Astronomical  Observatory  there  have  come 
ready  more  than  70  large  quarto  v'olnmes  of  Innn! 

':^::^rcz:::::.r '-''"  '-^-'-^  '--^- 

Of  the  Graduate  Schools,  the  Medical  S.-hool  issues 
0  Journal  of  Malical  RcscarcJ,,  containing  aocoun 
't    ong,naI   investigations    in  medicine,    usuallv   about 
Uvo  volumes  a  year;  the  students  of  the  Law  Sclol 
With  the  help  of  the  Faculty,  publish  the  HarlrlL'w 


i   I  d 


l.'!)4  Kfilll'MKNT  von  HKSEARCII 

Rcvinr  monthly  through  tht-  acadt'rnio  yoar;  of  this 
publication  twenty-five  volumes  have  now  been  issued, 
and  it  contains  many  learned  papers  on  legal  subjects  by 
professors  and  pra.luates  of  the  School.  The  Graduate 
School  of  Architecture  issues  the  Archilcctural  Quar- 
terly of  Harvard  VniversUij.  This  has  only  recently 
been  estr.I)]ishcd.  From  the  University  Library  come 
the  nihliofirnphical  Contributions,  issued  from  time  to 
tune:  GO  numbers  have  already  been  printed. 


'I 


1/ 


'  I 


THE  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  (JRADUATES 

The  (iovcrnmont  of  the  I'niv.-rsitv.     rommencenient  Dav      Thi. 
Alumni  Assoc.ulion.    The  Harvard  Clubs.   '""^"'^•^"'*"'  "«y-     The 

The  government  of  Harvard  University  to.da>   rests 
on  the  cliarter  of  1650,  mo<lin..d  very  slightly  by  an 
appendix  "  added  in  1G57.     About  the  end  of  the 
Beventeenth  century  there  were,  as  part  of  the  struggles 
of  the  old  school  of  theologians  to  maintain  control 
several  efforts  to  modify  the  charter;  but  when  happily 
these  efforts  failed  to  gain  the  approval  of  the  govern- 
ment in  England,  by  a  resolve  of  the  General  Court  of 
the  province  in  1707  the  President  and  Fellows  were 
directed  to  exercise  the  powers  granted  by  the  charter  of 
UoO.     Under  this  charter,   Harvard   University,   with 
all  Its  departments,  its  numerous  buildings  and  extensive 
area,  not  only  in  Cambridge  and  Boston,  but  in  Jamaica 
i  Jain,  Petersham,  and  New  Hampshire,  with  its  staff 
of  over  700,  and  its  students  numbering  over  4000  has 
all  grown  easily  and  naturally  out  of  the  little  College 
half  divinity  school,  half  boarding-school,  of  the  time 
when  the  charter  was  granted.    It  seems  fairly  demon- 
strated  then  that  this  charter  was  admirably  conceived 
tor  the  work  which  it  had  to  do. 

The  secret  of  the  success  of  the  charter  lies  in  its 
simplicity,  elasticity,  and  freedom  from  hampering  limi- 
tations.   It  was  written  wlien  New  England  was  stiU  a 

295 


;i 


!    3 
i   i 


.1      ^1 

I  I     'J 

I      ■ 


"    h 


)|li 


'i  ' 


\i> 


290        (JOVEKX.MJLNT  AND  THE  GRADUATES 

theocracy,  wlicn  citizenship  and  church-nienibcrship 
were  still  identical,  and  tiie  dream  of  a  millennium 
based  on  the  hierarchy  and  the  Levitical  sehcnic  of  the 
Old  Testament  was  still  radiant.  Its  framers  could 
hardly  have  doubted  that  under  it  the  government  of 
the  colony  would  continue  to  be  in  the  hands  of  minis- 
ters. Nevertheless,  even  under  such  conditions,  it  meant 
largeness  of  view  and  practical  sense  to  entrust  almost 
absolutely  to  the  hands  of  seven  men  the  administration 
of  an  institution  for  Vvhich  such  high  hopes  were  enter- 
tained. 

Under  the  charter,  the  President  and  Fellows  of 
Harvard  College  are  the  owners  and  managers  of  the 
University  in  trust  for  the  community.  In  them  vests 
all  property,  whether  real  or  personal;  they  manage 
the  funds  and  endowments  and  their  investment;  they 
distribute  the  income  where  it  is  not  specifically  assigned 
to  a  fixed  purpose ;  they  decide  all  questions  of  building 
and  the  care  of  the  land ;  they  elect,  subject  to  the  ap- 
proval of  the  Overseers,  their  own  successors  and  all 
professors  and  other  officers  of  the  University ;  through 
their  control  over  the  income  and  over  appointments, 
they  direct  the  policy  of  the  University,  and,  except  so 
far  as  their  action  is  modified  by  large  gifts,  they  deter- 
mine the  directions  in  which  the  University  shall  ex- 
pand. 

Nevertheless,  as  in  all  effective  government,  one  man 
has  the  chief  directing  power.  The  President  alone  is 
expected  to  know  the  affairs  of  the  University  in  detail, 
and  he  makes  recommendations  to  the  Corporation  and 
discusses  with  it  all  questions  of  policy  and  action.  The 
Corporation  meets  regularly  twice  a  month  throughout 
the  academic  year;  each  meeting  occupies  the  better 
part  of  a  morning,  and  there  are,  besides,  occasional 


THE  CORPORATION 


297 


extra  meetings.  There  is  committee  work  also,  some  of 
which  IS  onerous.  The  responsibilities  of  the  Corpora- 
tion  can  be  juilged  from  the  fact  that  in  the  Catalogue 
cf  1912-13  there  are  listed  774  teachers  of  various  grades, 
all  of  whom  have  betn  appointed  by  the  Corporation 
who  give  instruction  to  472<J  students  (exclusive  of  Uni- 
versity  Extension  students) ;  that  there  are  22  different 
departments,  including  the  museums  and  other  depart- 
ments of  research,  and  that  the  invested  funds  of  the 
University  amount  to  over  $-26,000,000,  and  the  income  to 
)f!2,o00,000.  It  IS  obvious  that  even  for  giving  advice  on 
tiie  daily  affairs  of  so  groat  an  organization,  the  Fellows 
must  spend  much  time  and  give  much  thought. 

From  the  beginning,  the  members  of  the  Corporation 
liave  been  drawn  from  the  loaders  of  the  community 
which  surrounds  the  College.     At  first  the  Corporation 
consisted  mostly  of  ministers  of  the  leading  Puritan 
churches  of  Boston  and  its  neighborhood.    John  Lever- 
ett,  however,  who  joined  the  Board  in  1685,  was  a  lay- 
man, the  first  to  be  elected.    At  first,  too,  the  tutors  or 
instructors  in  the  College  were,  more  or  loss  regularly 
also  Fellows.    It  was  not  until  after  1700  that  a  distinc- 
tion came  to  be  made  between  resident  and  non-resident 
Fellows,  and  this  distinction  for  many  years  was  vague. 
As  late  as  1824  three  of  the  resident  instructors  ad- 
dressed a  memorial  to  the  Overseers,  in  which  they  de- 
clared that  "  by  the  charter  of  tlie  University,  the  Fel- 
lows of  the  University  are  required  to  be  resident  in- 
structors."   The  Overseers,  after  careful  consideration 
decided   against  them;   and  since  that  time  there  has 
been  no  questioning  of  the  prinoiplo  that  there  is  no 
obligation  to  elect  only  .Alomliors  of  the  Faculty  to  the 
Corporation.    In  1806.  wlu'n  Chief  Justice  Parsons  was 
elected  to  succeed  Prof.ssor  Pearson,  the  Corporation 


.15   I ! 


!'|! 


'  i| 


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MH 


,1  :  J 


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.    f 


298   GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  GRADUATES 

for  the  first  time  became  composed  exclusively  of  non- 
resident Fellows.* 

As  the  property  of  the  College  increased,  and  its 
prime  function  was  changed  from  the  training  of  minis- 
ters to  the  education  of  youth  for  all  walks  of  life,  the 
members  of  the  Corporation  tended  to  become  men  of 
affairs;  and  in  the  last  hundred  years  there  have  been 
only  five  clergymen  elected  Fellows.  In  the  last  half- 
century  only  twice  have  professors  been  elected  as  Fel- 
lows—Professor Joseph  Henry  Thayer  of  the  Divinity 
School  and  Professor  Ephraim  Whitman  Gumey  of  the 
Department  of  History,— though  Alexander  Agassiz,  who 
was  Curator  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology, 
also  served  twice  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

Throughout  the  historj-  of  Harvard  the  Corporation 
has  been  composed  of  men  of  the  highest  standing  in 
Boston,  men  respected  not  only  for  judgment  and  ad- 
ministrative capacity,  but  for  their  largeness  of  ideas 
and  for  their  liberality  of  thought.    A  seat  on  the  Cor- 
poration of  Harvard  College  has  alwavs  been  one  of 
the  "  blue  ribbons  "  of  Boston,  and  the  list  of  past  and 
present   members    is   admirably   representative   of  the 
men  who  have  made  Boston  and,  through  Boston,  New 
England,  a  force  in  the  country.     The  first  President 
was  Henry  Dunstor;  the  first  Treasurer.  Thomas  Dan- 
forth,  and  the  first  Follows,  Samuel  Mather,   Samuel 
Danforth,  Jonathan  Mitchell,  Comfort  Starr,  and  Sam- 
uel Eaton.    Since  that  time,  the  list  has  been  enriched 
with  such  names  as  Wigglesworth,   Bradstreet,   Eliot, 
Sewall,  Brattle,  Holyoke.  Winthrop,  Bowdoin,  Lowell, 
Jackson.    Story.    Bowditch.    Crowninshield,    Parkman,' 
Adams,— to  take  only  a  few,  almost  at  random. 

•  Josiah  Quincy,  History  of  Harvard  University,  vol.  ii,  p.  338. 


% 

t 
f 


THE  BOARD  OF  OVERSEERS  299 

Anyone  who  knows  the  history  of  Boston  knows  the 
leadership  which  has  been  won  and  maintained  by  the  in- 
tellectual aristocracy  which  Dr.  Holmes  happily  de- 
nominated the ' '  Brahmin  caste. ' '  The  ranks  of  this  aris- 
tocracy are  always  open  to  recruits  from  below,  and  the 
permanence  of  its  family  names  is  no  more  remarkable 
than  the  number  of  new  family  names  which  take  their 
places  in  it  from  generation  to  generation.  Harvard  is  a 
Boston  institution  chiefly  in  the  sense  that  it  has  had  the 
counsel  and  support  of  the  men  who  have  maintained 
themselves  as  leaders  in  Boston  by  sound  judgment, 
enterprise,  and  unselfish  public  service. 

Side  by  side  with  the  Corporation  and  in  close  though 
never  very  precisely  defined  relations  of  supervision 
stands  the  Honorable  and  Reverend  Board  of  Over- 
seers. Historically,  the  Overseers  antedate  the  Corpora- 
tion, for  in  1642  the  General  Court  made  the  follow- 
ing order: — 

The  Governor  and  Deputy-Governor  for  the  time 
being,  and  all  the  magistrates  of  this  jurisdiction,  to- 
gether with  the  teaching  elders  of  the  six  next  adioin- 
ing  towM,— viz.  Cambridge,  Watertown,  Charlestown, 
Boston,  Roxbury,  and  Dorchester,-and  the  President 
of  the  said  College  for  the  time  being,  shall,  from  time 
to  time,  have  full  power  and  authority  to  make  and 
establish  all  such  orders,  statutes,  and  constitutions  as 
they  shall  see  necessary  for  the  instituting,  guiding,  and 
turthenng  of  the  said  College  and  the  several  members 
thereof,  from  time  to  time,  in  piety,  morality,  and  learn- 

After  a  few  years,  however,  this  form  of  government 
was  found  cumbrous;  accordingly,  when  the  charter  was 
voted  by  the  General  Court,  the  active  authority  was 
put  in  the  hands  of  a  Corporation  of  seven,  but  with  the 


i   ill 

I  ill 
ii 


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If  ^    I 

in 


300       CJOVERXMEXT  AND  THE  GHADUATES 

proviso  that  their  action  "  be  allowed  by  the  Overseers." 
The  "  appendix  "  of  1G57  to  the  eollego  charter  went  a 
step  further  in  simplifying  the  government  by  providing 
that  the  Corporation  could  take  action  "  witiiout  de- 
pendence upon  the  consent  of  the  Overseers  foregoing. 
Provided  always,  that  the  Corporation  shall  be  respon- 
sible unto,  and  those  orders  and  by-laws  shall  be  alter- 
able by,  the  Overseers,  according  to  their  discretion." 
Under  this  proviso,  the  practice  to-day  is  that  all  ap- 
pointments for  more  than  a  single  year  are  referred  to 
the  Board  of  Overseers  for  confirmation,  and  that  all 
important  changes  in  policy  must  meet  their  approval 
before  going  into  effect. 

The  purpose  of  retaining  the  Overseers  along  with 
the  Corporation  was  to  make  sure  that  there  should  al- 
ways be  somebody  to  reprcs(>nt  the  best  general  public 
opinion  of  the  community,  to  whom  the  Corporation 
could  give  account  of  their  stewardship.  In  the  earlier 
years  the  Overseers  v.vrc  the  ministers  of  the  nearby 
churches  and  the  magistrates  of  the  colony  or  province. 
When,  in  1780,  the  constitution  was  framed  for  the  new 
Commonwealth  of  ^Ia.ssaehusetts,  special  articles  se- 
cured to  the  College  the  perpetual  enjoyment  of  its 
vested  rights  and  powers.  This  section  of  the  consti- 
tution provided  that  the  successors  to  the  Governor, 
Deputy-Governor,  and  ^Magistrates  of  the  Colony  of 
Slassachusetts  Bay,  should  be  the  Governor,  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  Council,  and  Senate  of  the  Commonwealth. 
Thus  the  close  association  between  the  Commonwealth 
and  the  College  was  maintained. 

Gradually  the  limitation  of  the  personnel  of  the  Board 
to  clergymen  and  state  officials  gave  way.  In  1810  the 
Congregationalist  ministers  of  specified  towns  and  the 
State  Senate  were  replaced  by  fifteen  ministers  of  Con- 


THE  BOARD  OF  OVERSEERS  301 

Sregational  churches  and  fifteen  laymen,  all  inhabitants 
of  the  State,  who  were  to  be  elected  by  the  Overseers 
themselves.     The  proviso  that  this  act  should  not  go 
into  effect  until  accepted  by  the  Corporation  and  Over- 
seers  affirmed   the   principle    that   the    Commonwealth 
should  not  change  the  constitution  of  the  College  with- 
out the  consent  of  its  Governing  Boards.     It  was  not 
long,  however,  before  the  Senate  of  the  Commonwealth 
was  restored  as  part  of  the  Board  of  Overseers.     In 
183-4  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  opening  the  board 
to  clergymen   of  all   denominations,   but  this  act   was 
not  accepted  until  1843.    In  1851  another  change  for- 
mally recognized  the  fact  that  the  state  of  society  in 
New    England    had    changed    so    completely    that    the 
ministers,  though  still  highly  respected,  were  no  longer 
the  dominating  representative  force  in  the  community 
that  they  had  been.    Accordingly,  in  1851,  it  was  pro- 
vided that  the  Board  of  Overseers  should  consist  of  the 
Governor,  Lieutenant-Governor,  President  of  the  Senate, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Secretary-  of 
the  Board  of  Education,  President  and  Treasurer  of 
Harvard  College,  together  with  thirty  other  persons  to 
be  elected  by  joint  ballot  of  the  Senators  and  Representa- 
tives of  the  Commonwealth.     In  1865  a  still  further 
change  in  the  relation  of  the  College  to  the  Common- 
wealth  was  effectuated   by  providing  that  the  thirty 
elected  members  should  be  ciiosen  by  the  graduates  of 
the  College.     In  1880,  the  increasingly  national  char- 
acter of  the  Univei-sity  was  recognized  by  providing  that 
persons  not  inhabitants  of  the  Commonwealth  should 
be  eligible  as  Overseers.     Finally,   in  1889,  the  Com- 
monwealth abdicated  any  direct  control  over  the  Uni- 
versity by  turning  over  to  the  Corporation  and  Over- 
seei's  the  determination  of  what  classes  of  graduates 


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302       (JOVEK.\MEXT  AND  THE  GRADUATES 

should   be  cntitk-d  to  vote  for  Overseers.     Under  the 
Authority   of  this  act,   whieh  was  assented  to   by  the 
Overseers  in  1902,  and  by  the  Corporation  in  1903,  the 
two  boards,  in  1907,  adopted  the  following  vote:    "  That 
tJie  decrees  conferred  by  the  Governing  Boards  of  the 
University,   upon   tlic  reeonimendation  of  the   Faculty 
of  Arts  and.  Sciences,  upon  the  graduates  of  the  Law- 
rence Scientific  School,  of  the  Graduate  School  of  Arts 
and  Sciences,  and  of  the  Graduate  School  of  Applied 
Science,  and  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science  con- 
ferred after  residence  in  Harvard  College,  shall  entitle 
the  recipients  thereof  to  vote  for  Overseers  to  the  same 
extent  and  under  the  same  restrictions  to  and  under 
which  recipients  of  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  of 
Harvaj-d  College  may  now  so  vote."     This  provision 
still  leaves  the  graduates  of  the  professional  schools, 
except  the  Graduate  School  of  Applied  Science,  without 
the  suffrage.     Unless  inertia  is  too  strong  a  force,  it  is 
likely  that  they  will  be  added  before  long.    All  through 
these  changes,  it  will  be  noted  that  the  aim  has  been  to 
provide  a  body  of  men,  who,  for  that  special  period, 
shall  best  represent  the  graduates  of  the  College  and  the 
educated   public   opinion  of  the  community. 

For  many  years  the  elections  for  Overseers  have  been 
held  on  Commencement  Day,  five  Overseers  being  chosen 
each  year  for  a  term  of  six  years.  The  nominations  are 
made  by  a  committee  of  the  Alumni  Association,  who  spend 
much  time  in  selecting,  from  among  the  graduates,  names 
to  be  put  in  nomination.  They  are  required  to  send  out  to 
all  graduates  a  number  of  names  not  less  than  twice  or 
more  than  three  times  the  number  of  the  vacancies  to  be 
filled,  and  with  the  lists  they  send  a  brief  statement 
of  the  services  of  the  candidates  and  of  offices  they 
have  held,   whether  inside  or  outside  the   University. 


THE  BOARD  OP  OVERSEERS  303 

The  graduates  send  in  their  preliminary  ballots  by 
mail ;  and  in  some  years  more  than  five  thousand  ballots 
have  been  received.  From  these  ballots  is  made  up  the 
list  of  candidates  to  be  voted  on  at  Commencement,  con- 
sisting  of  double  the  number  of  vacancies,  taken  from 
the  top  of  the  list  and  arranged  in  the  order  of  the 
number  of  votes  received  on  the  preliminary  ballot.  The 
election  is  conducted  on  the  "  Australian  Ballot " 
system. 

Membership  in  the  "  Honorable  and  Reverend  Board 
of  Overseers  "  is  always  an  honor,  for  it  is  a  mark  of 
the  confidence  of  graduates  in  the  character  and  judg- 
ment  of  the  men  who  are  elected.    Through  them  the 
Corporation  is  kept  informed  of  the  general  status  of 
opinion     concerning    the    College    among    graduates 
throughout  the  country.     Of  recent  years  there  have 
always  been  Overseers  from  places  distant  from  Bos- 
ton.   In  1911-12  there  were  Overseers  from  Kentucky, 
Missouri,  New  York,  Minnesota,  New  Jersey,  Oregon^ 
Illinois,  and  Washington,  D.  C. ;  and  in  that  year  barely 
a  majority  of  the  Board  lived  in  Boston  or  its  neighbor- 
hood.    The  Overseers   from  a  distance  are,  many  of 
them,  as  assiduous  in  attendance  at  the  monthly  meet- 
ings as  are  the  members  from  Boston.    More  and  more 
it  is  felt  that  the  Overseers  have  unusual  opportunities 
to  be  of  service  to  the  University;  and  though  they  can- 
not, in  their  comparatively  few  meetings,  come  to  any 
intimate   acquaintance  with   the  University  in   detail, 
they  represent  and  concentrate   a  strong  interest   of 
graduates  in  the  maintenance  of  its  prosperity  and  in 
strengthening  its  power  of  service  to  the  country. 

Their  function  is  somewhat  extended  by  the  com- 
mittees which  they  appoint  to  visit  the  various  depart- 
ments and  activities  of  the  University.     In  1912  there 


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304       GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  GRADUATES 

wtTc  forty-seven  of  these  committees.  They  are  made 
np  partly  of  Overseers,  partly  of  graduates,  partly 
of  friunils  of  the  University  who  are  not  graduates. 
The  seriousness  with  which  they  regard  their  funetions 
varies  greatly.  Under  an  inactive  chairman  the  serv- 
ice of  the  committee  may  be  wholly  perfunctory. 
Where  the  chairman  is  active,  the  committee  is  of  great 
service  to  the  officers  of  the  University  by  giving  them 
counsel,  by  helping  to  raise  money  for  the  smaller  needs 
which  always  press  on  the  teaching  force,  and  by  the 
moral  encouragement  of  their  friendship. 

In  the  main,  the  Overseers  have  acted  in  the  past 
rather  as  a  governing  wheel  than  as  an  accelerator  of 
action.     On  four  occasions,  however,  they  have  forced 
on  the  Corporation  important  changes  of  policy  in  the 
direction  of  liberty  and  constructive  reform.     It  was 
they,  who,  in  1766,  compelled  the  change  by  which  the 
instruction  in  the  College  was  made  departmental,  so  that 
each  tutor  should  teach  a  subject  instead  of  carrying  one 
class  all  through  the  four  years.    In  the  early  nineteenth 
century  the  Board  again  planted  the  seeds  of  the  elective 
system,  which,  though  the  planting  was  too  early  for 
immediate   growth,   still  kept   some  vitality   until   the 
coming  of  President  Eliot.     In  1826  they  required  the 
President  of  the  University  and  the  Treasurer  to  make 
annual  written  reports;  and  out  of  this  vote  has  grown 
the  series  of  reports  which  since  President  Eliot's  ap- 
pointment have  become  notable  features  in  the  general 
educational  progress  of  the  country.     In  general,  how- 
ever, their  action  has  usually  slowed  down  the  advance 
of  the  University.     It  was  not  until  1886,  for  example, 
that  they  accepted  the  recommendation  which  the  Col- 
here  Faculty  had  begun  to  make  as  early  as  1873,  that 
attendance   at  morning  prayers  should  be  voluntary. 


THE  GOVERXINU  BOARDS  305 

Nevcrthelfss,  such  a  botiy.  in  representing  i)ul}lic  opin- 
ion, even  though  it  occasionally  resists  an  advance,  is 
more  often  invaluable  by  making  necessary  further 
study  of  a  proi)osc(J  change. 

There  are  still  a  few  remnants  of  formal  procedure 
in  the  constitution.    For  example,  the  Corporation,  be- 
fore proceeding  to  an  election  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  its 
own  number,  must  formally  ask  the  consent  of  the  Over- 
seers to  proceed  to  the  election ;  and  then,  having  this 
consent,   and   having   made   the   election,   their   action 
jnust  be  confirmed  by  the  Overseers.    The  Faculty  have 
no  communication  directly  with  the  Overseers:  if  they 
wish  to  transmit  a  vote  to  the  Faculty,  they  must  send 
it  through  the   Corporation;  and  in  like  manner  the 
Faculty  returns  its  answer  through  the  same  channel. 
The  faculties  and  officers  of  the  various  departments 
come  into  relation  with  the  Governing  Boards  chiefly 
through  the  President.    Down  to  Mr.  Eliot's  time  presi- 
dents were  not  expected  to  take  too  much  interest  in 
the  professional  schools.     A  story  is  told  to  the  effect 
that  in  the  first  years  of  his  administration,  when  he 
was  urging  reforms  in  medical  education,  one  of  the 
older  members  of  the  Medical  Faculty  broke  out  with 
the  question  why  there  were  so  many  changes  going 
on  in  the  Medical  School  when  things  had  run  so  com- 
fortably for  so  many  years;  and  that  President  Eliot 
quietly  answered,  "  The  reason  is  that  there  is  a  new 
President."      This    independence    of    the    professional 
schools  is  now  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  the  President 
and  the  other  members  of  the  Corporation  are  expected 
to  take  almost  as  active  an  interest  in  them  as  in  Har- 
vard College.     Appointments  of  the  younger  men  are 
naturally  made  only  after  consultation  with  the  older 
men  who  know  them;  but  that  is  equally  true  of  ap- 


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306  GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  GRADUATES  ' 
pointnionts  in  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  The 
last  forty  years  have  greatly  strengthened  the  organiza- 
tion  of  the  I'niversity  into  a  single  unit. 

In  the  older  times  Commencement  Day  was  an  occa- 
sion of  drink  and  of  riot.  For  many  years  it  was  a 
public  holiday:  the  Governor,  escorted  by  his  body- 
guard, came  in  state  from  Boston  and  all  Boston  and  the 
surrounding  region  trooped  to  Cambridge,  where  the 
Common  adjacent  to  the  College  was  turned  into  a 
country  fair.  In  the  earlier  times  liquor  was  sold  with- 
out  r-  friction.  As  early  as  1693  there  were  symptoms 
that  I  ommencement  was  becoming  a  period  of  disturb- 
ing festivity.  In  that  year  the  Corporation  passed  the 
following  vote: — 

Having  been  informed  that  the  custom  taken  up  in 
t^ie  College,  not  used  in  any  other  Universities,  for  the 
Lommeneers  to  have  plumb-cake,  is  dishonorable  to  the 
College,  not  grateful  to  wise  men,  and  chargeable  to  the 
parents  ot  the  commencers,  [the  Corporation]  do  there- 
fore put  an  end  to  that  custom,  and  do  hereby  order 
that  no  commencer,  or  other  scholar,  shall  have  any 
such  cakes  in  their  studies  or  chambers;  and  that  if  any 
scholar  shall  offend  therein,  the  cakes  shall  be  taken 
trom  him  and  he  shall  moreover  pay  to  the  College  20 
shillings  for  each  such  offence. 

In  1722  another  ordinance  for  "  reforming  the  ex- 
travagances of  Commencements  "  provided  that  "  no 
preparation  nor  provision  of  either  Plumb  Cake,  or 
Roasted,  Boyled  or  Baked  Meates  or  Pyes  of  any  kind 
shal  be  made  by  any  Commencer,"  and  prohibited  them 
from  having  in  their  chambers  "  Distilled  Lyquours  " 
or  "  any  composition  made  therewith." 

In  1728  the  Corporation  voted  to  request  the  Lieu- 


COMMENCEMENT  DAY  307 

tenant-Governor  to  direct  the  Slioriff  of  Middlesex  to 
prohibit  the  setting  up  of  booths  and  tents  on  Com- 
mencement Day.     In  1733,  the  Corporation  and  three 
Justices  of  tlie   Peace  in   Cambridge   met  to  concert 
measures  to  keep  order  at  Commencement,  and  under 
their  warrant  to  establish  "  a  constable  with  six  men 
who,  by  watching  and  walking  towards  evening-  on  these 
days,  and  also  the  night  following,  and  in  and  about 
the  entry  to  the  College  Hall  at  dinner-time,  should  pre- 
vent disorders."     Such  provisions  seem  to  show  that 
life  in  a  Puritan  colony  was  not  of  necessity  all  prayer 
and  sermon  for  everybody. 

In  1761  the  Corporation  voted  to  allow  punch,  on  the 
ground  that  "  as  it  is  now  usually  made,  it  is  no  in- 
toxicating liquor."  In  1749  the  feeling  about  the  dis- 
orders on  Commencement  Day  became  so  stron^  that 
three  gentlemen  who  had  sons  in  the  graduating  class 
offered  to  give  the  College  one  thousand  pounds  pro- 
vided that  ♦'  a  trial  was  made  of  Commencement  this 
year  in  a  more  private  manner." 

After  the  Revolution  the  disorders  increased  still 
more,  and  Professor  A.  P.  Peabody  (A.B.  1826)  de- 
scribes Commencement  in  his  day  as  follows:— 

The  entire  Common,  then  an  unenclosed  dust-plain 
was  completely  covered  on  Commencement  Day  and  the 
night  preceding  and  following  it,  with  drinking-stands 
dancing  booths,  mountebank  shows,  and  gambling-tables  • 
and  I  have  never  heard  such  a  horrid  din,  tumult,  and 
jargon  of  oath,  shout,  scream,  fiddle,  quarrelling,  and 
frfSn^^'^'ifV^  those  two  nights.  By  such  summary 
methods  as  but  few  other  men  could  have  employed 
Mr.  Quincy,  at  the  outset  of  his  presidency  (1829)' 
swept  the  Common  clear;  and  during  his  entire  adminis- 
tration the  public  days  of  the  College  were  k^pt  free 
from  rowdyism.  '^ 


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noS       (lOVKRXMKNT  AXD  1  UK  (JKADI'ATES 

It  was  not  until  mm,  howwc  r,  that  ]h.  John  Pierco, 
who  attend. •,!  ,.vor>'  Comru.'nfiinent  hut  one  from  17S4 
to  1848.  ent.T^d  in  his  m-oni .-  "  li,.  it  notod  that  this 
istho  first  ('nnnncnci'Munt  I  .ver  attended  in  Camhridc.. 
in  whif'li  I  saw  not  a  sinplo  p<'rs.)n  drunk  in  thf  hall 
or  out  of  it.  Th.-ro  wen-  Ww  t,  west  present  I  ev -r 
nnuniher,  (h.uhfl^ss  on  a.  ••ouiit  of  th.>  his-ccntennial 
Oflehration  to  he  ohserved  next  week." 

The  iriiprovinient  made  hy  I'rcsidei-r  Quiney  in  elear- 
in<?  up  the  Common  was  earried  to  tii.  Coiiojjc  itself.  In 
184G,  when,  even  at  the  ("ommcncrment  dinner,  only 
wine  and  lemonade  were  .served.  Ui<-  various  elasses  held 
reunions  in  rooms  in  the  Yard  at  wlii.h  thev  put  hefore 
themselves  and  their  quests  mu<'h  >rronsr  drink.  It  was 
not  until  18!)3  that  the  Corpora: ion  finally  voted  that, 
"  Hereafter  no  puneiies  nor  distilled  liquors  shall  be 
allowed  in  any  ooll.M:e  rooms  on  Chiss  Dav  or  Com- 
nieneement  Day."  With  tiiis  vote  one  of  the  aneiont 
eustoms  of  the  fathers  fell  befoie  tiie  more  deeorous 
ideas  of  their  de.scendants. 

Now  Commeneement  Day  is  an  imposinc  if  no  longer 
liilarious  aoademie  festivity.  In  the  morning  the  Uni- 
versity is  the  ho-st  and  tli(>  degrees  are  conferred  in 
Sanders  Theatre.  The  candidates  for  the  deffreos  from 
the  Colleo;,,'  and  the  various  professional  .schools,  all  in 
cap  and  sown,  assemble  at  different  points  in  the  Yard, 
under  thi'  direction  of  the  University  Marshal  and  his 
aides.  The  President  and  Fellows  receive  the  Governor 
and  his  .staff,  who  come  out  from  Roston  escorted  by 
the  Lancers,  a  body  of  citizen  cavalry  the  brilliancy  of 
whose  uniform  atones  for  a  certain  inexperience  in 
horsemanship.  Then  the  procession  is  formed,  with  the 
candidates  for  the  deo;rees  in  the  lead,  for  the  march  to 
Sanders   Theatre.     As   the   head  of  the  line  reaches 


PES 

Picrco, 

111   17S4 
lat  this 
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It  was 
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COMMENCEMENT  Di^  f  309 

Memorial  HaU,  of  which  Sanders  Thentre  is  a  part,  the 
younger  men  divide  and  stand  on  each  side  of  the  path 
to  allow  the  President  and  Fellows  and  the  Governor 
and  invited  guests  to  pass  through  their  line.    Then  all 
follow  in. 

The  theater  is  small;  its  total  capacity  with  the  plat- 
form crowded  is  less  than  1500.    Since  the  number  of 
degrees  now  conferred  each  year  is  about  a  thousand 
and  the  members  of  the  teaching  staff  who  are  entitled 
to  seats  on  the  platform  is  over  700,  it  will  be  seen  that 
there  is  little  space  for  audience.    As  a  matter  of  fact 
of  the  graduating  class  in  the  College,  only  one  in  everj^ 
three  or  four  gets  a  single  seat  to  give  to  a  member 
of  his  family.    The  meeting  is  called  to  order  accord- 
mg  to  ancient   custom   by   the   Sheriff  of   Middlesex 
County,  who  pounds  on  the  floor  with  the  scabbard  of 
his  sword  and  utters  the  "  Oyez,  Oyez,  Oyez,"-the 
ancient  foi      for  calling  a  court  to  order.    Then,  after 
the  prayer,  the  University  Marshal  calls  on  four  or 
five  of  the  candidate  for  degrees  for  their  "  parts  "    Of 
these  the  only  relic  of  the  ancient  times  is  the'  Latin 
Salutatory;  the  other  parts  are  all  essays  on  matters 
usually  of  very  contemporaneous  interest.     Then  there 
la  an  intermission,  during  which  the  band  in  the  gallery 
performs  for  the  entertainment  of  the  audience. 

In  the  meantime  the  President  has  been  sitting  with 
the  rest  of  the  Corporation  behind  the  rail  at  the  rear 
of  the  platform.  Before  the  rail  stands  the  ancient 
chair  of  the  President.  This  chair,  a  curious  old  struc- 
ture with  a  three-cornered  seat  and  intricately  turned 
posts  and  back,  was  given  to  the  College  during  the 
presidency  of  Holyoke,  which  lasted  from  1737  to  1769 
The  intermission  over,  the  President  takes  his  seat  in 
this  chair  for  the  conferring  of  degrees,  including  ^« 


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Vi 


310   GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  GRADUATES 

honorary  degrees,  and  when  the  latter  are  reached,  the 
interest  of  the  audience  is  keen  to  see  who  will  be  hon- 
ored and  to  hear  the  terms  in  which  their  claims  to  dis- 
tinction will  be  summed  up.  As  the  President  names 
each  of  thom,  the  recipient  rises;  then  the  President 
rises  and  bows  to  him,  and  reads  the  short  "  epitaph  " 
in  which  he  has  summed  up  his  title  to  the  distinction. 
Then  the  President  bows  again  and  sits  down,  and  the 
audience  applauds  the  newly  adopted  alumnus.  After 
the  conferring  of  the  honorary  degrees  and  a  brief 
prayer,  the  meeting  is  dissolved  and  the  term  of  the 
University  for  the  year  is  brought  to  a  close. 

The  ceremonies  have  still  the  simplicity  and  dignity 
of  the  Puritan  days.    Until  within  a  generation  there 
were  no  rules  and  no  customs  about  academic  costume, 
and  the  Faculty  came  to  Commencement  in  what  garb 
they  chose.     The  fashionable  wear  was  the  black  silk 
gown  still  worn  by  all  ministers  except  the  Episcopalians, 
and  for  an  important  occasion  most  of  the  ministers' 
gowns  in   Boston   and  the   neighborhood   were   under 
requisition  for  Commencement.    Later,  as  the  University 
become  more  complex,  it  was  necessary  to  have  some 
slight  increase  in  form,  and  now  the  Faculty  are  re- 
quested, though  they  are  not  required,  to  wear  academic 
gowns.    A  few  years  ago,  the  Corporation,  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  Faculties,  adopted  a  full  set  of  gowns 
and  hoods  for  the  use  of  officers  and  graduates  of  the 
University.    Harvard  men  arc  still  as  a  rule  shy  about 
appearing  in  bright  colors,  but  the  University  Marshal 
and  his  aides  are  expected  to  appear  in  their  hoods  and 
gowns,  and  there  is  always  a  certain  sprinkling  of  hoods 
in  various  brilliant  colors,  representing  degrees  granted 
either  for  study  or  honoris  causa  at  other  universities. 
In  the  afternoon  the  Alumni  A.ssoeiation  becomes  the 


COMMENCEMENT  DAT 


311 

host  and  entertains  the  President  and  Fellows  of  the 
University  and  the  distinguished  guests  of  the  morning 
The  chief  marshal  of  the  day.  who  is  always  nominated 
by  the  class  which  is  celebrating  the  twenty-fifth  anni- 
vereary  of  its  graduation,  has  appointed  a  staff  of  aides 
and  marshals.    He  gives  a  luncheon  to  the  guests  of  the 
Association  and  his  own  friends,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  various  classes  supply  informal  refreshments  in  the 
rooms  about  the  Yard,  in  which  they  hold  their  reunions 
and   most   of   the   clubs   keep   open   house    for   their 
members.    At  two  o'clock  the  band  begins  to  play  in  the 
Yard  and  the  graduates  assemble.     The  chief  marshal 
of  the  day  mounts  a  chair  at  the  comer  of  Massachu- 
setts Hall,  and  calls  off  the  order  of  the  procession   be- 
ginning with  the  President  and  Fellows,  the  Overseers 
and  the  invited  guests  of  the  University.    Then  he  calls 
for  the  classes  in  order,   beginning  with  the   oldest 
Usually  there  is  no  response  until  he  has  called  ten  or 
fifteen  classes.     Then  some  brave  old  gentleman  steps 
out  of  the  throng  and  takes  his  place  at  the  head  of  the 
hue  amid  the  applause  of  his  younger  fellow  graduates. 
Then,  with  occasional  gaps,  the  long  line  of  classes  falls 
gradually  into  line.    Usually  there  are  at  least  60  classes 
represented   in   the    procession.     When   they   are    all 
formed,  the  band  at  the  head  strikes  up  a  lively  march 
and  the  procession  winds  around  the  Yard.    As  they 
pass  the  steps  of  University  Hall,  each  class  is  cheered 
by  a  cluster  of  undergraduates  and  graduates  which 
always  assembles  there.    The  procession  used  to  be  formed 
before  a  regular  luncheon,  which  was  served  in  Me- 
morial Hall,    men  the  numbers  of  those  who  wished 
to  attend  increased,  it  was  found  necessary  to  give  up 
the  luncheon,  in  order  that  the  space  occupied  by  the 
tables  might  be  saved  for  chairs.     In  1910  even  this 


li 


312   GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  GRADUATES 


M 


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I 


li        I 


expedient  was  found  insufficient,  and  the  experiment 
was  tried  of  holding  the  meeting  in  the  open  air  in  the 
quadrangle  behind  Sever  Hall.  Here  a  long  platform 
is  built  against  the  Hall,  on  which  are  seated  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Alumni  Association  and  the  guests  of  *he 
day;  and  the  graduates  have  chairs  on  the  graf  m 
front  and  on  a  wooden  stand  built  up  opposite  the  Hall 
A  canvas  awning  is  stretched  overhead  to  keep  off  the 
sun. 

At  tills  meeting  it  has  been  a  long-standing  custom 
that  the  President  of  the  University  shall  make  a  brief 
report  to  the  graduates  on  the  year  which  is  just  closing, 
and  in  particular  that  he  shall  give  an  account  of  the 
gifts  received  during  the  year.  There  is  always  keen 
interest  in  this  portion  of  his  address.  He  has  also 
the  chance  to  speak  to  the  graduates  in  a  less  formal 
and  more  intimate  way  than  in  his  annual  report;  this 
address  is,  as  it  were,  a  talk  within  the  family. 

After  the  President  of  the  University  the  President 
of  the  Alumni  calls  on  the  Governor  of  the  Common- 
wealth, who,  by  custom  going  back  to  the  foundation 
of  the  College,  always  represents  the  Commonwealth  at 
Commencement.  After  the  Governor  a  few  of  the  other 
distinguished  guests  are  called  on,  and  the  meeting 
breaks  up  by  four  o'clock. 


B'  t 


I 


1 


One  of  the  manifestations  of  college  and  university 
spirit  in  America  which  is  especially  striking  to  for- 
eigners is  the  enthusiastic  loyalty  of  graduates,  mani- 
'  fested  in  the  crowded  reunions  of  the  classes  at  academic 
festivals  and  in  the  generosity  with  which  they  give 
time  and  money  for  the  advance  of  their  own  institu- 
tions. In  this  respect  Harvard  is  no  exception.  The 
gatherings    on    Oommoncement    Day    have    long    been 


THE  ALUMNI  ASSOCIATION 


313 


notable;  and  of  late  years,  as  tlie  University  has  grown 
in  size,  the  graduates  have  formed  more  organizations 
which  combine  social  and  festive  ends  with  serious  sup- 
port of  the  University.  At  the  same  time,  the  steadily 
increasing  flow  of  gifts  to  the  University  proves  that 
the  enthusiasm  has  a  solid  basis. 

Of  the  associations  of  graduates,  the  most  inclusive 
is  the  Harvard  Alumni  Association  which  was  formed 
August  26,  1840.  The  report  on  which  the  Association 
organized  was  signed  by  William  Minot  (A.B.  1802), 
Henry  Ware,  Jr.  (A.B.  1812),  Charles  G.  Loring  (A.B. 
1812),  Charles  P.  Curtis  (A.B.  1811),  and  Samuel 
Greele  (A.B.  1802),  and  it  is  marked  by  all  the  conscious 
dignity  of  eloquence  which  was  the  fashion  of  the  day. 
It  reads  as  follows : — 

After  much  deliberation,  and  conference  with  zealous 
and  conspicuous  friends  of  the  College,  the  committee 
has  been  convinced  that  such  an  Association  is  desir- 
able, alike  for  the  happy  influence  it  may  exercise  m 
the  promotion  of  good-fellowship  and  personal  regard 
among  the  sons  of  our  venerated  Alma  Mater;  and  the 
beneficial  effect  that  may  be  anticipated  from  a  period- 
ical return  to  her  sacred  groves,  renewing  that  interest 
in  her  welfare  and  glory,  which  separation  and  absence 
have  hitherto  caused  too  long,  and  lamentably,  to  slum- 
ber     They  believe  too,  that  the  causes  of  Christian 
morals,  and  intelligent  patriotism,  as  well  as  that  of 
Good  Letters,  might  be  essentially  advanced  by  public 
addresses  to  be  pronounced  by  the  distinguished  states- 
men and  scholars  whose  names  crowd  her  catalogue,  and 
by  the  extemporaneous  effusions  at  the  festive  board, 
and  a  zeal  thus  created  in  the  great  objects,  and  peculiar 
purposes  of  American  scholarship,  the  want  of  which 
is  apparent  to  every  lover  of  learning  and  of  his  country. 
Some  of  these  objects  are  indeed  partially  attained 
by  the  Society  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa.    But  it  is  well 
known   that  the  exclusive  character  of  that  Institution, 


Hi 


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il 


314   GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  GRADUATES 

shutting  out  a  large  majority  of  the  Alumni  frou  its 
privileges  and  founded  on  distinctions,  which,  however 
just  in  their  origin,  cannot  be  rationally  considereo  to 
entitle  its  members  to  an  invidious  preeminence  through 
life,  exerts  an  unhappy  and  extensive  influence  in  alien- 
ating numbers  of  the  Alumni  from  attending  at  the 
annual  festival  of  the  College,  who  would  gladly  throng 
her  halls,  if  they  could  come  to  meet  their  classmates 
and  friends,  upon  equal  terms,  in  communion  upon  the 
topics  of  learning  and  patriotism,  alike  important  and 
dear  to  all. 

The  first  officers  of  the  Alumni  Association  were: 
President,  John  Quiney  Adams  (A.B.  1787),  ex-Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States;  Vice-Presidents:  Joseph 
Story  (A.B.  1798),  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States;  Edward  Everett  (A.B.  1811),  Minister 
to  England,  Secretary  of  State,  and  Governor  of  Massa- 
chusetts; Directors:  John  Pickering  (A.B.  1796), 
President  of  the  American  Academy,  Horace  Binney 
(A.B.  1797),  member  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society  and  of  the  American  Academy,  and  Membe^ 
of  Congress,  Lemuel  Shaw  (A.B.  1800),  Chief  Justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts,  Lcverett  Sal- 
tonstall  (A.B.  1802),  Overseer  and  Member  of  Con- 
gress, James  G.  King  (A.B.  1810),  Member  of  Con- 
gress. Nathaniel  L.  Frothinghara  (A.B.  1811),  Overseer, 
and  Fellow  of  the  American  Academy,  Peleg  Sprague 
(A.B.  1812),  Judge  of  the  United  States  District  Court, 
Member  of  Congress,  and  United  States  Senator.  The 
Secretary  was  Benjamin  R.  Curtis  (A.B.  1829),  after- 
wards Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

The  distinction  of  this  first  list  of  officers  has  been 
maintained  through  the  history  of  the  Association,  and 
its  presidency  has  been  perhaps  the  highest  mark  of 
approval  which  the  alumni  as  a  body  confer.    Among 


i? 


THE  ALUMNI  ASSOCIATION  315 

the  presidents  since  Mr.  Adams  have  been:   Edward 
Everett,  Robert  C.  Winthrop  (A.B.  1828),  Speaker  of 
the  United  States  House  of  Representatives,  Dr.  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes  (A.B.  1829),  E.  Rockwood  Hoar  (A.B. 
1835),  Member  of  Congress,  Attorney-General  of  the 
United  States,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massa- 
chusetts, James  Russell  Lowell  (A.B.  1838),  James  C. 
Carter  (A.B.  1850),  so  long  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
New  York  Bar,  George  F.  Hoar  (A.B.  1846),  United 
Sates  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  Phillips  Brooks  (A.B. 
1855)    Bishop  of  Massachusetts,  Joseph  Hodges  Choate 
(A b' 1852),  Charles  Eliot  Norton  (A.B.  1846),  Robert 
Todd  Lincoln   (A.B.  1864),  William  Lawrence   (A.B. 
1871),  Bishop  of  Massachusetts,  and  Charles  J.  Bona- 
parte'(A.B.  1871).  .  . 

For  many  years  the  activities  of  the  Alumni  Associa- 
tion were  confined  chiefly  to  the  management  of  the 
luncheon  and  the  meeting  on  the  afternoon  of  Com- 
mencement Day;  but  of  recent  years,  with  the  desire 
of  graduates  to  take  a  more  active  share  m  aiding  the 
University  and  in  extending  its  influence,  it  has  en- 
larged its  foundations,  and  now  maintains  a  continuous 
exBtence,  with  an  active  general  secretary.  It  is  now 
the  central  organ  for  communicating  information  about 
the  University  to  graduates  in  general,  and  for  making 
th?ir  efforts  in  behalf  of  it  more  effective. 

In  1907  the  Association  opened  an  office  in  Boston,  in 
the  same  building  with  the  office  of  the  President  and 
Fellows.  Here  the  general  secretary  and  his  assistant 
secretary  carry  on  a  constantly  enlarging  correspond- 
ence about  the  University  and  its  affairs,  and  do  what 
they  can  to  make  it  a  convenient  point  of  call  for 
graduates.  The  Association  also  maintains  here  an 
Appointment  Office,  which  puts  younger  graduates  in 


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316   GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  GRADUATES 

correspondeuce  with  business  men,  and  helps  them  to 
get  started.  Already  this  work  has  become  of  impor- 
tance, and  the  number  of  men  for  whom  places  are 
found  is  large. 

The  Alumni  Association  also  publishes  a  weekly  or- 
gan, the  Harvard  Alumni  Bulletin,  for  the  communica- 
tion of  news  to  graduates.  It  has  at  present  16  to 
20  pages  of  news  and  articles  of  general  interest  to 
graduates,  with  a  good  many  illustrations.  It  publishes 
special  articles  dealing  with  the  activities  of  the  various 
departments  of  the  University,  historical  notices  of 
buildings  or  of  ancient  customs,  news  from  the  Harvard 
Clubs  throughout  the  country,  athletic  news,  and  notes 
about  the  doings  of  the  Alumni.  Its  circulation  is  at 
present  about  8000. 

Another  publication,  which  is  independent  of  the 
Alumni  Association  but  which  in  twenty  successful 
years  has  done  credit  to  the  University,  is  the  Harvard 
Graduates'  Magazine,  founded  in  1892.  It  is  published 
quarterly  and  contains  authoritative  records  of  all  de- 
partments of  the  University  and  of  the  Alumni,  as  well 
as  articles  of  general  interest  to  educators.  It  has  al- 
ways an  account  of  the  activities  of  both  faculties 
and  undergraduates,  with  careful  summaries  of  athletic 
events,  news  from  the  various  classes,  and  book  reviews. 
The  object  of  the  editor  has  been  to  make  a  permanent 
record  of  all  matters  of  interest  to  Harvard  men;  and 
the  recent  publication  of  a  complete  index  at  the  end 
of  the  20th  year  of  publication  has  shown  how  success- 
ful he  has  been  in  this  effort.  The  founder  and  editor 
of  the  Graduates'  Magazine  is  William  R.  Thayer  (A-B. 
1881).  The  magazine  is  excellently  printed  and  has  an 
admirably  designed  cover.  Its  seal,  with  the  mallet  and 
pen  crossed  below  the  three  books  and  the  Veritas  of 


THE  HARVARD  CLUBS 


317 


Harvard,  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  adopted  for  the 
John  Harvard  window  in  St.  Saviour's  Church,  South- 
wark. 

The  Harvard  Clubs  throughout  the  country  are  active, 
numerous,  and  rapidly  increasing.    In  1912  there  were 
86  of  them,  scattered  over  America  and  as  far  afield 
as  Paris,  Berlin,  and  Japan.    These  clubs  have  at  least 
an  annual  meeting  and  dinner,  and  some  of  them  meet 
more  frequently.     Where  it  is  possible  they  have  as 
guest  some  officer  of  the  Alumni  Association  who  brings 
them  news  and  greetings  from  the  University.    Forty  of 
the  clubs  maintain  one  or  more  scholarships  at  the  Uni- 
versity  for  the   benefit  of  students   from  their   own 
neighborhood.     In  1912  there  were  50  such  scholar- 
ships and  the  total  amount  of  their  stipends  was  $10,750 
a  year.    Other  clubs  offer  cups  or  prizes  for  some  form 
of  athletics,  or  perhaps  for  debating,  in  the  schools  in 
their  neighborhood.    There  is  a  distinct  tendency  on  the 
part  of  such  clubs,  representing  not  only  Harvard  but 
other  universities,  tc  make  themselves  an  active  force 
in  the  life  of  their  communities  and  to  bring  the  united 
influence  of  college  men  to  bear  on  raising  the  standards 
of  public  and  private  life. 

Of  all  the  Harvard  clubs,  the  largest  and  most  pros- 
perous has  been  that  of  New  York  City.  Until  recently 
this  has  been  the  only  one  which  has  had  its  own  build- 
ing, but  this  distinction  is  now  shared  by  the  Harvard 
Club  of  Boston.  The  New  York  Club  was  founded  in 
1865,  and  until  1890  its  activities  consisted  chiefly  of  the 
dinners  and  meetings.  In  1890  it  bought  land  on  44th 
Street  and  built  a  house.  Since  then  the  building  has 
been  enlarged  three  times.  It  now  reaches  through  to 
45th  Street,  and  has  a  wide  frontage  on  the  two  streets. 


1 1 


i    I 


318       GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  OHADIJATES 

It  has,  besides  comfortable  lounging-rooms,  reading- 
rooms,  aud  a  library  well  furnished  with  books  by  Har- 
vard men.  a  considerable  number  of  bedrooms  for  the 
use  of  non-resident  members.  Its  chief  distinction  i% 
the  great  Harvard  Hall,  which  occupies  three  stories  on 
the  ISth  Street  front.  It  is  100  feet  long,  38  feet  wide, 
and  about  40  feet  high. 

The  Club  has  been  highly  successful.  It  was  founded 
with  the  idea  of  providing  a  homelike  place  of  meeting 
for  the  large  numbers  of  young  Harvard  men  who  settle 
in  New  York  away  from  their  families.  The  older  men 
believed  that  a  comfortable  club-house  with  low  dues 
would  do  much  to  keep  such  young  men  from  going 
wrong  out  of  sheer  loneliness.  The  success  of  the  Club 
was  immediate,  and  the  example  has  been  followed  by 
the  graduates  of  Yale  and  Princeton ;  and  there  are  also 
clubs  in  which  the  graduates  of  several  colleges  have 
united,  and  two  or  three  clubs  for  the  graduates  of 
Greek-Letter  societies,  which  bring  together  men  from 
many  colleges. 

Out  of  the  Harvard  clubs  in  the  West  has  grown  an 
association  known  as  the  Associated  Harvard  Clubs, 
which  since  1898  has  held  annual  meetings  in  different 
cities.  Though  it  is  in  spirit  and  membership  a  West- 
ern association,  it  includes  Harvard  clubs  from  the  East 
as  well,  and  every  few  years  a  meeting  is  held  in  the 
East.  At  these  meetings  there  is  serious  discussion  of 
the  interests  of  the  University  and  of  the  ways  in  which 
the  constituent  clubs  can  advance  those  interests.  Then, 
after  the  business  meeting,  there  is  an  afternoon  or  a 
day  given  to  some  excursion  and  a  dinner  in  the  evening, 
all  of  which  help  the  men  to  more  general  acquaintance 
with  each  other.  This  association  is  one  of  the  strong 
forces  for  keeping  Harvard  a  national  institution,  and 


If 


ALUMNI  OF  PROFESSIONAL  SCHOOLS   319 

for  impressing  on  the  country  at  large  that  the  whole 
nation  has  a  propri'  tary  interest  in  its  oldest  university. 
Besides  the  Alumni  Association  of  Harvard  College 
there  are  also  thriving  associations  of  graduates  of  the 
Law  School,  of  the  Medical  School,  of  the   Divinity 
School,  and  of  Harvard  Engineers.    Of  these  the  Law 
School  Association  now  issues  a  quinquennial  catalogue 
of  the  graduates  of  the  School,  with  lists  of  addresses; 
and  every  three  yars  it  has  a  meeting  at  which  orations 
are  made  and  re^i  rts  are  presented  on  the  work  of  the 
School.     The   Medical   School   Association   also  meets 
every  three  years,  for  two  or  three  days,  to  hear  papers 
on  subject^  connected  with  the  profession ;  and  the  meet- 
ing closes  with  a  dinner  at  which  addresses  are  made 
by  officers  of  the  School  and  distinguished  visitors. 
The   Association   of   Harvard    Engineers,    which   was 
organized   in    1907,    had    in   1912   a    membership    of 
436.    It  holds  annual  meetings  at  which  addresses  are 
made  in  the  interests  of  the  Association.    Besides  this 
general  society  there  is  a  Harvard  Engineering  Society  of 
New  York,  which  has  regular  meetings,  through  th    win- 
ter months,  partly  to  hear  professional  papers,  partly 
social.    One  of  its  activities  is  the  keeping  track  of  the 
younger  graduates  in  the  profession  and  helj  ;ng  them 
to  make  their  way. 

The  class  organization'  are  an  old  tradition  at  Har- 
vard. The  class  secretary  is  charged  with  the  duty  of 
keeping  the  addresses  of  his  classmates  and  enabling 
thera  to  communicate  with  each  other.  The  class  com- 
mittees administer  the  class  funds,  which  were  sub- 
scribed after  graduation  and  are  used  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  the  triennial  or  quinquennial  class  gather- 
ings. The  secretary  also  issues  a  report  containing 
statistics  and  information  about  the  doings  of  Ue  mem- 


\\ 


\i 


i\ 


320   GOVERNMENT  AND  THE  GHADUATES 

bcrs  of  the  class  after  graduation.  These  reports  aro 
usually  issued  the  third,  sixth,  and  tenth  years  after 
graduation,  and  then  every  fifth  year.  The  report  of 
the  twenty-fifth  year  is  usually  more  comprehensive;  of 
recent  years  it  has  been  the  custom  to  print  in  that  re- 
port pictures  of  each  member  of  the  class  at  graduation, 
and  twenty-five  years  afterwards,  thus  furnishing  a  most 
interesting  mine  of  material  for  the  study  of  physiog- 
nomy. 

Of  recent  years  the  reunions  of  classes  three,  six,  ten, 
fifteen,  and  twenty-five  years  after  graduation  have  drawn 
together  largely  increased  numbers  of  men.  Under  the 
present  arrangement  of  Commencement  Week  those 
dames  which  have  reunions  generally  gather  on  Mon- 
day and  more  or  less  keep  together  until  the  boat  race 
on  Friday.  The  preparations  are  now  heralded  by  bur- 
lesque publications  and  by  emissaries  of  the  treasurer 
of  the  class  committee,  which  needs  considerable  money 
to  spend  on  the  celebrations.  The  classes  gather  for  the 
Yale  baseball  game  in  Cambridge  and  for  the  march 
to  the  Stadium  on  Class  Day,  with  banners  and  with 
bands.  Between  times,  they  have  excursions  in  the  har- 
bor or  at  various  country  clubs  or  other  places  where 
there  is  a  chance  for  games  and  out-door  hilarity.  The 
result  of  these  reunions  is  that  very  soon  any  remnants 
of  lines  in  the  class  formed  during  the  college  course  will 
break  down  and  men  come  to  be  on  terms  of  the  best  of 
good-fellowship  with  classmates  whom  they  did  not  know 
by  sight  in  college.  All  these  reunions  are  a  force  for 
solidarity  and  for  breaking  down  the  old  reserve  which 
was  once  thought  the  chief  characteristic  of  Harvard 
men. 


h 


{f 


INDEX 


A.B.,  d^igTee  of,  reduction  of 
r(«|uin>d  term  of  residence 
for,  62,  63,  99;  require- 
mentii  for,  09,  109;  dis- 
tinction between,  and  S.B., 
109 

A.M.,  degree  of,  change  In 
method  of  conferring,  66, 
178,  179 

AbM,  Cleveland,  211 

Adami,  Charlea  F.,  184 

Adams,  John  Q.,  29,  184,  238, 
281 

Administrative  Board,  115,  118, 

117 
Admission,  early  requirementa 
for,  18;  standard  raised  un- 
der Eliot.  63  fr.;  revised  re- 
quirementa for,  64-57;  al- 
ternative plans  of,  127  ff. 
And  tee  Examinations. 

Admonitions,  22 

Advanced  standing,  admission 
to,  125,  128 

"Advisers"  to  Freshmen,  100 

Advocate,  the,  148 

Agassiz,  Alexander,  142,  210, 
267,  258,  269,  260,  261.  298 

Agassiz,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  C,  224 

Agassiz,  Louis,  creator  of  the 
University  Museum.  254  flf. ; 
36.  39.  42,  43,  65,  82,  105, 
186.  228,  276,  277 

Age  of  entrance,  129,  130 

Almanacs,  early,  prepared  by 
graduate  students,  280 

Alpha  Delta  Phi,  164 

Alumni  Association,  history  of. 
313-316;  some  past  officers 
of,  314,  315;  presidency  of .  a 


high  distinction.  314  activ- 
ities of,  greatly  enlarged, 
316,  316;  310.  311,  312 

Ames,  Fisher,  28 

Ames.  .James  Barr.  76 

Ames,  .lohn  S.,  217 

Ames,  Winthrop,   160 

Anatomical   Society,    182 

Andover,  college  property  re- 
moved to.  24 

Andover  Theological  Seminary, 
alliance  of,  with  Divinity 
School,   82,  208 

Anthropological  Society,  151 

Anthropology.  Dep't.  of,  280 

Applt'ton,  Nathaniel,   14 

Appleton  Chapel,  39 

Applied  Science,  Graduate 
Schools  of.  Bee  Graduate 
Schools,  etc. 

Appointment  OflBce,  315,  316 

Architecture,  School  of,  214, 
218,  217 

Arequlpa  (Peru),  astronom- 
ical station  at,  286 

Arnold,  James,  90 

Arnold  Arboretum,  described, 
237-276;  90,  249,  268,  269, 
275 

Arts  and  Sciences,  Faculty  of. 
See  Faculty. 

Arts  and  Sciences,  Graduate 
School  of.  Bee  Graduate 
School. 

Assistant  Dean,  117,   118.  120 

Associated  Harvard  Clubs,  318, 
319 

Astronomy,  study  of,  at  Har- 
vard, 280.  And  lee  Ob- 
servatory. 

Athletes,  and  probation,  122, 
123 


821 


if 


322 


INDEX 


I'     I 
ii     i 


Atlil.tic  Committee,  59,  134, 
135,  145,   146 

Athletics,  success  and  failure 
in,  132,  133;  present  status 
of,  135  ff.;  financial  aspects 
of,  146.  147;  as  an  antidote 
to  loneliness,  168,  109.  And 
sec  the  several  sporta. 

Athletics,  Graduate  Treasurer 
for,  146,  147,  148 

Attendance  at  lectures,  etc., 
record  of,  117 

Attendance  at  prayers.  See 
Prayers. 

Attwood,   F.  G..  150,  151 

Austin.  Edward.  202 

Austin  Hall,  202 

B 

Bancroft.  George,  35,  66 

Bank!4.  Nathaniel  P.,  257 

Bartlett,  John.  242 

Baseball,   142,  143 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward,   164 

Belcher.   Andrew.    10 

Bellingham.  Richard.  1 

Bernard,   Sir   Francis,   20.   23 
237 

Bijrelow,    Henry   J.,    186,    183, 
264 

Bigolow,  Jacob.   187 

Bijrelow,  William  S..  264 
Biology.     Applied,     School    of, 

214,  218  ff. 
Blaschka,   Leopold,   270 
Blaschka,   Rudolph,   270 
"  Bloody  Monday,"  58 
Bond,  George  P..  282 
Bond,  William  C.  281,  282 
Boott    (Francis)    Prize.    114 
Boston,     close     connection     of 
Harvard    College   with,    187, 
299 
Bostcn  College.  230 
Boston  Medical  Library,  249 
Boston  Medical  Society,   184 
Boston  Museiim,  278 
Boston  Musetim  of  Fine  Arts, 

230,  288.  289 
Boston  University,  230 


Botanic  Garden,  30,  267,  269, 

Botanical  Museum,  270-272 
Botany,  study  of,  at  Harvard, 

266 
Bowditch,  Henry  I.,  188 
Bowditch,  Hen-      P.,   188,   190 
Bowditch,    Natiianiel,    30,   281 
Bowdoin,  James,  28,  113 
Bowdoin  Prizes,  113,  114 
Bowie,  Richard  A.,  library  of. 

243  '       ' 

Boyden,  Uriah  A..  285 
Boylston,  Ward  N..  113 
Boylston    Chemical    Club,    151 
Boylston  Hall,  2.35 
Boylston  Prizes,  113,  114 
"Brahmin   caste,"   the,   299 
Brandegee.  Mrs.  E.  D.,  243 
Brattle,  Thomas,  11 
Brattle,  William.  11 
Brattle  Square  Church.  11 
Briggs,  Le  Baron  R.,   124,  164 
Brigham     (Peter    Bent)     Hos- 
pital, 193 

Brigham  (Robert)  Hospital, 
195 

Brooks,  Phillips,  148,  155 

Bruce,  Catherine  W.,  285 

Bryce,  .Tames  (Viscount), 
quoted,  45,  164 

Burgoyne,  Gen.  John.  25 

Burr,  Francis  H.,  160 

BuBch,  Adolphus,  289 

Business  Administration,  Grad- 
uate School  of.  See  Gradu- 
ate School. 

Bussey,  Benjamin,  89,  90,  209, 
218 

Bussey  Institution,  history  of, 
218-220;  49,  89,  90,  91,  209, 
214 


Cambridge,   absence   from,   62. 

63 
Cannon,  Miss.  284 
Carlyle,  Thomas,  his  gift  to  the 

Library,  240.  241,  282 
Carnegie  Foundation,  96 


;  f 


INDEX 


323 


"  Case-syBtetn,"     the.     in     the 
Law  Scho         i;    76.  201.  202, 
203;   in  t.       vledical  School, 
196.   197 
Cercle  Frant .  i    151 
Chancing,   William   Ellcry,  30 
Chapel  services,  64 
Chaplin,  Winfield  S.,  59,  87 
Charter  of  1660,  still  in  force, 
6,   295;    suspended   in    1692, 
10;  revived,  12;  secret  of  its 
success,  295.  296 
Charter  of  1692,  10,  11 
Chauncy,     Charles,     President, 

7    8    9 
Chauncy.  Charles   (II).  120 
Child,  Francis  J.,  65,  224,  239, 

245    246 
Child' Memorial  Library,  246 
Christian   Science  Society.   157 
Cincinnati,     first    outside    ex- 
aminations at,  55 
Circolo   Italiano.   151 
Class  Day,  celebration  of.  171- 

174 
Class  Day  ofiBcers,  election  of, 

171 
Class  feeling.  133,  134 
Class  officers.    132,   133 
Class  organizations,   171,  319, 

320 
Class  reports,  171 
Class  reunions,  320 
Class  Secretary.  171,  319,  320 
Classical  Club,  181 
Clubs.     See  Literary,  Musical. 

Social  Clubs. 
Coaching.  137,  140,  141 
College  Bible,  the,  121 
College  Yard,  drift  of  students 
away   from.    166,    167;    how 
counteracted,  167;  on  Class 
Day,   172.   173 
Collegian,  the,  148 
Colman,  Benjamin,  14.  15 
Commencement,  the  first 
(1640),  4;  historical  aspects 
of.    306  ff.;    in   recent   days, 
308-312.  320 
Commencement     week,      rear- 
rangement of,  171,  172 


Committee  of  Ten,  66 
Comparative  Zoology,  Museam 

of.     See  Museum. 
Conant  Hall,  165.  181. 
Concord,   College   removed  to, 

24. 
Cooke,  Josiah  P.,  46,  84,  228, 

263,  264 
Coolidge,     Archibald     C,     his 
gifts   to   the    Library,   241, 
242 
Coolidge,  Charles  A..  150 
Cornell  University,  141,  144 
Corporal  punishment,  9,  20.  21, 

118,  119 
Corporation,    the,    established, 
6;    duties   of,    6.    296,    297; 
upholds  independence  of  the 
College,     13;     disputes    con- 
cerning  membership   in,    14, 
32.     297,     298.     299;     and 
tutors'  tenure,   17;   and  the 
finances,     28;     favors    Uni- 
tarian movement,  29 
Cotton,  John,   1 
Crafts,  James  M.,  210 
CrimHon,  the,  149,  150 
Cryptogamic    Herbarium.    272 
Cuban    teachers    at    Harvard, 

229 
Curtis.  Charles  P.,  313 
Curtis.  G.  C.  164.  260.  266 
Curtis,  M.  A..  272 
Cutler.  Timothy.  16 


A.  K.  B.,  161.  164 
Dane,  Nathan,  199 
Dane  Hall,  35 
Danforth,   Samuel,   298 
Danforth,  Thomas,  298 
Dante  Society  P.ize,  114 
Dartmouth  College,  143 
Davis,  William  M.,  211,  266 
Dean  of  Harvard  College,  office 

created,    61;    115,    116,    117, 

120.  121.  123.  124 
Debating,  153,  154 
Degrees,  conferring  of.  309.  310 
Degrees  with  disUnction.  Ill 


ip 


324 


INDEX 


I? 
't 


>      I 


i  1 


li   i 


I)e  ta   Kappn   Upsilon,   164 
Delta  Sigma  Rho,  153 
Delta   Upsilon,   162 
Demerits,   system  of.   120 
Dental  School,  in  1869,  49-  74 
192,  193  ' 

Derby,   Mrs.   Sarah,  27 
"Deturs,"    112,    113 
Deutscher  Verein.   151 
Dexter,  Aaron,  184 
Dicey,  A.  V.,  205 
Digby.   Sir   Kenelm,   235 
Discipline,   in   early   times,   9. 
10;    changes  in,  20,  21.   27, 
33,   61,   62;    history  of,    118 
tt. 
Dismission,  121 
Disorder,  gradual  decrease  of, 

68,  69 
Divinity  Hall,  34 
Divinity     School,     established, 
31,  32;  in  1869,  47;  changes 
in,   under   Eliot,   79  ff.;    and 
the  Andovcr   Seminary,   82; 
history  of.  205  ff. 
Divinity  School  Library,  248 
Dormitories,  college,  1B5,  106 
Dormitories,  Freshman,   167 
Dormitories,  private,  166,  167 
Downing,  Sir  George,  4 
Draper.  Mrs.  Henry,  286 
Drew,  John,  242 
Dudley,  Thomas,  1 
Dunbar,  Charles  F.,  61,  62 
Dunn.  George.  248 
Dunster,     Henry,     first    Presi- 
dPnt,    3,    4.    5;    indicted   for 

53T298""'^''    '•    '■'    ^''' 

E 

Faton,   Daniel  C.  210 
Eaton,   Nathaniel.   3 
Eaton.   Samuel,   298 

^239"^'  ^'"'''"  "''^"^  "'•  238, 
Edwards,  .Jonathan.  17 
Elective^  system,    inauguration 

5?''7'    37,    38,    39;    under 
ilUI,  40 ff.;  greatly  expanded 


under     Eliot,     61  ff.;     from 
i«"-1910.98.99;Bincel9"? 
1S2.   iJi    '^"'''''   ""»•   »'' 
^"°*' Charles  William,  Pre«|. 
dent,  Harvard  of  today  prac- 
tically    the   creation    of    hii 
administration,    46;    expan- 
S'*""    "/   «'ective   system   un- 
TJa   *''/ 5   ra'sing  of  sUnd- 
ara    or    admission    require- 
ments,   54  ff;    chairman    of 
committee   of  Ten     fifl-    17 
34,   38.    59,    60,    6"4.  'm\   JJ.' 
74,    77,    79,   80,    81,    87     89 
92    96.    126.    142,      64.'lS6 
J83.  200,  201,  207,  229.  iSJ: 
fPt;  /*"i,  f «   Corporation, 

IS:  Jr  '""""'•  ^^•'•-^ 

Eliot,  Samuel,  256 
Kllot,  Samuel  A.,  239 
Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  164 
Emerson  Hall.  246 
Employment  Offlce,  169,  170 
ijngineering  Camp.  215.  216 
Engmeering,    School    of,    214, 

Engineers.  Association  of,  319 
tjpiscopalianism.  growth  of,  15 
Erskme,  .John,  238 
Erving,  William,  27 
Eustis,  Henry  L.,  36.  83 

^TJ-7.^f4"8!'';i4'^'''"''-*'  ««• 
Examinations,    for    admission. 

when   first   held   awav   from 

Cambridge,    55.    125  ff 
Examinations,  final,  110 
Examinations,  hour.   110 
Examinations,  mid-year.  69  110 
Expulsion,  122 


Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences, 
created,  68.  92ff.;  number  of 
members  of.  93;  promotion 
">.  95;  divisions  and  depart- 
ments of.   97 ff.;    committee 


INDEX 


325 


of,  on  choice  of  plectivos,  100, 
101 ;    coinmitt<>e    of,    un    in- 
Btruction,    103;    courses    of- 
fered by,   106 ff. 
Faculty    of    Harvard    Collegie, 
and  plans  of  admission,  127  ff. 
"  Faculty    of   the    University," 
organization  of,  33;  in  1809, 
40 ;  and  term  of  residence  for 
degree  of  A. 6.,  53;  and  the 
new  requirements  for  admis- 
sion,   54  ff.;     and    athletics, 
59;    and    revision    of    rules, 
60  ff. 
Faculty  Room,  the,  93,  94 
"  Fair  Harvard,"  148 
Farlow,   Lewis   H..   279 
Farlow,   William   G.,   271.  272 
Farrar,  .Tohn,  281 
Fearing.  Daniel  B.,  244 
Fellows,  different  senses  of  the 
term,  14,  32;  distinction  be- 
tween resident  and  non-resi- 
dent, 297.    And  see  Corpora- 
tion. 
Felton,     Cornelius     C,     Presi- 
dent, 39,   40,    148 
Fine  Arts.  Dep't.  of,  51 
Fines,    system    of,    21,    22,    33, 

119,  120 
Firmin,  Giles,   182 
Fisher,  Joshua,  267 
Fiske,  John,  164 
Flandrau,  C.  M.,   150 
Fleming,  Williamina  P.,  284 
Fogg     (William     Hayes)     Art 

Museum,  287-289 
Football,  137-1.39 
Forbes,  W.  Cameron,  137 
Forestry,   School  of,  214,   217. 
Franklin.  Benjamin,  20 
Freshmen,     advisers    to.     100; 
elective  courses  open  to.  106, 
107;   organization  of.   170 
Furness,  Horace  H.,  164 

G 

Gale,  Theophilus,  8,  2.36 
Garland.  .lamrs  A..  264 
Garrison        (Lloyd       McKim) 
Prize,  114 


Cay,   Edwin   F.,  221 

General  Court.  See  Massa- 
eiiusetts. 

Geological   Museum,  265,  266 

Geology      See  Mining. 

German,  when  first  taught  at 
Harvard,  .33 

Germanic  Museum,  287,  289, 
290 

Gibbs,  Woleott,  05,  84 

Gilder,  Richard  W.,   104 

(iilman,   Arthur,  224 

Gilman,  Samuel,  148 

Glass  ilowers,  collection  of,  270, 
271 

Glee  Club,  152,  173 

Goethe,  Johann  W.  von,  239 

"Gold  Coast."  the.  166 

Goodnle.  George  L.,  258 

Goodnough,   William.    279 

Goodwin,  William  W.,  46,  65, 
224 

Gore,  Christopher,  35 

Gore  Hall,  ,35 

Gould,  A.  A.,  267 

Governor  of  Massachusetts,  at 
Commencement,  308,  312 

Governing  Boards.  See  Cor- 
poration, Overseers. 

Grades  in  marking.  Ill 

Graduate  Club,   181 

Graduate  Dop't.,  institution  of, 
177;   67 

Graduate  School  of  Arts  and 
Sciences,  177  ff.;  scholar- 
ships and  fellowships  at- 
tached to,  180;  08,  92 

Graduate  School  of  Business 
Administration,  220  ff. 

Grarhirtte  School  of  Medicine, 
197.  198 

Graduate  Schools,  the.  classes 
of,  175.  176;  relations  or, 
with  Harvard  College,  176; 
historical  origin  of,  176,  177 

Graduate  Schools  of  Applied 
Science.  88.  89.  91,  212. 
And  see  Architecture,  Biol- 
ogy, Engineering.  Forestry, 
Landscape  Architecture,  Min- 
ing. 


326 


INDEX 


1  i 

i 


Grailuutc  stmlont",  organiza- 
tion of  regular  instruction 
for,  C4ff. 

Grant.  Robert,  160 

Gray,  Asa,  42.  05,  22S,  248, 
207,  208,  271 

Grav,  Mrs.   Asa,  248 

Gray,   Francis  C,   30,  39,  250 

Grav,  .John  C,  70 

Gray  Herbarium,  library  of, 
208;    234,  248,  209,  272 

Grays  Hall,   105 

Greek,  in  requirements  for  ad- 
mission, 55,  50 

Greek  letter  fraternities,  103, 
104 

Greelr.  Samuel,  313 

Greenough,  James  B.,  148,  224, 
2';  3 

Greenwood.  Isaac,  17 

Gro*8.  Charles,  243 

Guild,   Curtis.   2.50 

Gurnev.  Ephraim  VV.,  47,  58, 
242,"  298 


"  IT,"  the  dream  of  the  school- 
bov,   130 

Hagc-n,   Prof.,  201 

Hancock,  .John,  and  the  treas- 
urership.  23,  26;   238 

Hancock.  Thomas.  20,  238 

Hart,  Albert  B..  59 

Harte,  F.  Bret,  1B4 

Harvard.  John,  his  bequest  to 
the  College,  which  is  named 
for  him,  2;  statue  of,  60; 
his  library  burned  in  Har- 
vard Hall.  235.  236;    19 

Harvard  Alumni  RuHetin,  316 

"Harvard  Annex."  225 

Hansard  Architectural  Magn- 
irine,  149 

Har\-ard  Club  of  New  York, 
317.  318 

Harvard  Clubs.  317-319 

Harvard  College,  first  legisla- 
tive grant  for,  1;  named  for 
John  Harvard.  2;  early  gifts 
in  aid  of,  2;  the  first  Com- 
mencement,    4;      Board     of 


Overseers  established,  4;  Mai 
of,  5;  uncertain  provision  for 
support  of,  5,  0;  Charter  of 
1030,  0;  Corporation  of,  ea- 
tablished,  6;  in  great  straits, 
7;     Mather's    troublous    ad- 
ministration, 8ff.;  early  in- 
struction   in,    9;    charter  of 
1092  and  its  eflfects,  10,  11; 
triumph  of  liberal  ideas,  14, 
18;  growth  of,  15,  16;  early 
requirements    for   admission, 
10;      curriculum     in     early 
17th    century,    16;    financial 
position  of,  10;  religioua  re- 
vival  in,   17,   18;   change  of 
mode     of     instruction,     21; 
politics  in,   in  revolutionary 
times,  22.  23;   in  the  Revo- 
lution,   23-25;     removed    to 
Concord,  24;  changes  in  difl- 
cipline   and    instruction,   LJ. 
28;    financial    crisis,    28;    in 
Unitarian  Movement,  29;  be- 
comes    a     university,     31; 
changes  in  organization,  32- 
34;   curriculum  in  mid-19th 
century,    41-43;     instruction 
liberalized       and      standard 
raised,  43  fT.;  final  severance 
of  ties  between,  and  Massa- 
chusetts.     44,     45;      under 
Eliot's  administration.  46 ff.; 
state  of,  in   1869,  46  ff.;  ex- 
pansion of  instruction,  51  ff.; 
standard  of  admission  raiseu, 
53  ff.;    average    age    at  en- 
trance,  57,   58;    present  ad- 
ministration of,  92  ff. ;  a  free 
and    open    democracy.    135; 
and    the    Graduate    Schools, 
176 
Har\'ard    College   scholarships, 

112 
Harvard  Commission  on  West- 
ern History.  244 
Harvard  Dramatic  Club,  161 
Harvard  Engineering  Journal, 

149 
Harvard    Engineering   Society, 
151 


INDEX 


327 


Harvard   Forest    (Petersham), 
217 

Harvard  Graduates'  Magaexne, 
316 

Harvard  Hall    (first),  burning 
of.  19,  182,  236,  237 

Harvard  Hall  (second),  20 

Harvard  Illustrated  Magazine, 
149,  150 

Harvard  Lyceum,  148 

Harvard  ilagaeine,  148 

Harvard    Mathematical    Club, 
ISl 

Harvard    Medical     School     in 
China,  158 

Harvard  Mission,  156,  157,  158 

Harvard  Monthly,  149,  150 

Harvard  Musical  Association, 
152,   153 

Harvard   Musical  Review,   149 

Harvard  Register,  148 

Harvard  "  Studies."  various 
scries  of.  292,  293 

Harvard  Union,  169,  160 

Harvard  University,  first  use 
of  term,  25;  when  it  came 
into  existence,  31 ;  chief  de- 
velopments in,  under  Eliot, 
50  ff.;  equipment  of,  for  re- 
search work,  233  ff. 

Harvard  University  Library, 
history  of,  235  ff.;  special 
reference  libraries,  246;  total 
number  of  books,  etc.,  in, 
249,  250;  treasures  of.  250 
ff.;  new  building  for,  253 
Harvard  University  Press,  291 

Harvard- Andover   Divinity 

Club.  156 
Harvardiana,   148 
Hasty  Pudding  Club,  161,  162, 

172 
Hay,  Clarence  L.,  242 
Hazing,  abandonment  of,  58 
Hedge,   Frederic  H.,  35 
Heim,  Prof.,  265  , 

Henry,  Prince,  of  Prussia,  241 
Herald,  the.  149 
Hersey.  Abner,  27 
Hersey,  Kzeliicl,  27,  182 


Hersey,     Mrs.     Ezekiel.       See 

Derby,  Sarah. 
Hersey  Professorships,  27 
Uigginson,  Henry  L.,  152,  159, 

160 
High-schools,    public,    and    ad- 
mission to  Harvard,  57,  126, 
128 
Hill,  Thomas,  President,  40-45, 

46 
Hillard.   George    S.,    148 
Hoar,  Leonard.  President,  8,  9 
Hockey,   139,  140 
Hohensollern  collection,  241 
Holden,  Samuel,  20 
Holden,  Mrs.  Samuel,  20 
Holden  Chapel,  20 
Hollis,    Thomas,    endows    first 
professorship  in  the  College, 
13,  14,  15,  10,  236 
Hollis,  Thomas  (II),  236,  237, 

238 
Hollis,  Thomas  B..  238 
Hollis  Hall.  19,  20,  165,  166 
Hollis  Professorship  of  Divin- 
ity, 13,  14,  31.  206 
Holmes,    Oliver   W..    148,    164, 

186,  187,   188.  299 
Holworthy,  Sir  Mattliew.  9 
Holworthy  Hall,   29,   34,    165. 

166 
Holyoke,     Edward,     President, 

16-22,  309 
Hooper,  Samuel,  84 
Hopkins.  Edward.  112 
Horsford,  Ebcn  N.,  36.  83 
Hospitals    connected    with,    or 
pasy  of  access  from,  the  new 
Medical    School.    193-195 
Hughes.  Charles  E..  164 
Huntington,  Mrs.  Collis  P..  190 
Huntington  (Collis  P.)  Memo- 
rial Hospital,  193.  194 
Hutchinson.  Thomas.  23,  120 
Hyatt,  AlpheuB.  210 
Hyde,    James   H.,    159^    243 

I 

"Immediate   Gcvcronent,"  33 


328 


INDEX 


S 


I     '     \ 


Individual,  liberty  of  the,  the 
prevailing  note  at  Harvard, 
131 

Institute  of  1770,  160.  161,  108 

Iniitruction,  chanfp>s  in  mode 
of,  21,  27.  28.  33.  40  ff.;  state 
of,  in  1869,  46  ff.;  expansion 
of,  in  the  College,  51  ff.; 
present  method  of.  103 

Intercollegiate  Rules  Commit- 
tee.   137 

Ivy   Orator,    172,    173 

J 

Jackson,  James.   186,   187,   188 
Jackson.  John  B.  S.,  188 
James.    William,    quoted,    254, 

255 
Jefferson   Physical  Laboratory, 

214.  235 
John  Harvard  Fellowships,  180 
John  Harvard  Srholarships.  112 
Jones,  William  L..  210 
Journalism  at  Harvard,  148  ff. 


Kapteyn,  Prof..  287 

Kimball,  David,  278 

King's   Chapel,    15 

Kirk  land,       John       Thornton, 

Prrsiflcnt.  .30.34,  60 
Knoblauch,  E.  G.,  150 


Laboratory    work,    beginnings 

of.  42 
Lacrosse.  144 

Lami»)on,  the,   149,   150,   151 
Landscape  Architecture,  School 

of,  214,  217 
Langdell.       Christophrr       C. 

quoted,  47.  48;  and  the  Law 

School,  75.  76.  79,  200  ff. 
Langdell  Hall.  202 
Langdon,     Samuel,     President, 

22,   25,  26 
Langley,  .John  W.,  210 
Law  Clubs,  203,   204 
I^w  Library,  79.  204,  205 
Law  School,  ostiiMiHlied    31  ;  in 
_1869,  47,  48i, changes  in,  ua- 


der   Eliot,  74  ff.,  200 ff.;    re- 
quirements for  admission,  75, 
78;  history  of,  198  ff.;  stand- 
ard of,  steadily  raised,  202. 
203 
Law  School  Association,  319 
Lawrence,  Abbott,  87,  209 
Lawrence,  James,   87 
Lawrence   Scientific   School,  in 
1869,  49.  50;  changes  in,  un- 
der   Eliot,    82  ff.;    ceases    to 
exist.    88.    212;     history    of, 
209  ff. ;  36.  37.  46.  65,  67 

Le  Conte.  Joseph,  210 

Ij<'iter,  Joseph.   143 

Lettsom,  Dr..   263 

Leverett,  .Tohn.  President,  11, 
12,   14,   15,  297 

Lexington,  battle  of,  24 

Library  of  Harvard  College, 
burned  in  Harvard  Hall,  19; 
beginning  of  replacement  of, 
20.  And  see  Harvard  Uni- 
versity Library. 

Library  Council,  245 

Life,  150,  151 

Lightfoot,  John,  235,  236 

Literary  clubs.  151.  152 

I-flcke,  Samuel,  President,  22 

Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,   164 

Loeb,  James.  242 

Ijoeb.  Morris.  242 

I^ngfellow.  Henry  W.,  164,  241 

iMT'ing.  Charles  G.,  313 

I^uis  XVI.  266 

Lowe.  Robert  W.,  242 

Lowell,    A.    Lawrence,    Presi- 
dent.   155.  230 

Lowell,  James  R.,  42,  148,  239, 
251 

Lowell,  John.  28.  230 

Lowell,  John  (II).  30 

Ix)well   Institute.  2.30 

Lowell  Memorial  Library,  240, 
246 

Lyon,  David  G..  81 

M 

M.B..  degree  of.   185 

M.n..   detrreo  of.   70.    196.    197 

McGill  University,   139 


1   f 


INDEX 


329 


McKay.  Gordon,  bequest  of,  88, 

212   213 
MacKaye,  Percy,  164 
Magenta,  the,   148 
Managers    of    athletic    teams, 

136,  137 
Marsigny.  Alphonse,  242 
Martin,    Edward   S.,    150,    151 
Massachusetts,  constitution  of, 
25,    26;    General    Court    of, 
not  generous  to  College.  28; 
final  severance  between  Har- 
vard and,  44,  45 
Massachusetts     Bay.     General 
Court  of,  makes  first  grant 
for  College,   1 
Massachusetts     General     Hos- 
pital. 193,  105 
Massachusetts       Institute      of 

Technology,  230 
Mather,  Cotton,  11,  13,  15,  2.16 
Mather,    Increase,   Rector    and 
President,     8  AT.;      and     the 
chart<'r    of     1092.     10,     11; 
forced  to  resign,  12 
Mather,  Nathaniel.  280 
Mather,  Samuel.  298 
Matthews,  Nathan.   166 
Matthews  Hall.  166 
Mayhew,  Jonathan,   120 
Maynard,  Sir  .John.  236 
"Med.  Fac."  the,  00 
Medical    College    of    Philadel- 
phia,   183 
Medical      Faculty      organized, 

186 
Medical  Institution  of  Harvard 
University,  established.  26, 
185,  186.  And  see  Medical 
School. 
Medical  School,  beginnings  of, 
26,  27;  first  professorships 
in,  27;  organized.  31,  34;  in 
1869.  48.  49;  changes  in,  un- 
der Eliot,  69  AT.,  187  ff.;  the 
"Undertaking,"  73;  degree 
required  for  admission  to, 
73;  history  of,  182-186; 
early  status  of,  186,  187; 
Boston  families  connected 
with,  187  i  Buccessive  homes 


of,  189;  new  buildings  of, 
190  fT.;  hospitals  connected 
with,  193,  194;  advanced 
study  and  research  work  in, 
197.  198;  176.  And  see 
Graduate  School  of  Medicine. 
Medical  School  Association,  319 
Medical  School  library.  249 

Medical  schools,  private,  186 

Memorial  Hall.  300.  311 

Metcalf.  .Joel  H.,  285 

"Mid-years."  59.  110 

Mineralogical     Museum,     258, 
262-265 

Mining,  School  of,   84  ff.,  214, 
216 

Mining  and  Practical  Geology, 
49 

Minot,  William,  313 

Mitohell.  Jonathan.  298 

Modern  Language  Conference, 
181 

Montt,  Louis,  242 

Moore,  Charles  H.,  51 

Moot  Courts,  204 

Morgan,  J.  Pierpont,   190.  191 

Morgan,  Morris  H.,  243,  244 

Morton,  Charles,  Vice-Presi- 
dent 12. 

Mozard,  M.,  263 

Museum  of  Comparative  Zo- 
ology, described,  259-262;  li- 
brary of.  248,  262;  .39.  49. 
254.  256 

Musical  clubs,  152,   153 

Myles,  Samuel,  15 

N 

National  Education  Assooin- 
tion,  Committee  of  Ten  of, 
56 

Neto  England's  First  Fruits, 
quoted,  3 

New  Hampshire,  Province  of, 
20,238 

New  London,  races  at,  141,142 

Newcomb.   Simon.   210 

Newetowne,  afterward  Cam- 
bridge, College  established 
at,  1 


330 


INDEX 


Norton,  Andrews,  32 

Norton,  C'barlos  E.,  library  of, 

and  its  treasurct,  243,  251; 

51,  235,  217 
Nuttall,  Thomas,  267 


Oakea,  Urian.  President,  8. 

Observatory,  the,  281-287;  its 
equipment,  285;  and  library, 
280;  endowment  of,  286 

Olivart  collection,  in  Law  Li- 
brary. 205,  247 

Oliver,  Secretary,  120 

Overseers,  Board  of,  estab- 
lished, 4;  attacked  by  the 
Mathers,  12;  schism  in,  13, 
14;  and  the  Hoi  lis  Professor, 
13,  14;  and  removal  of  tu- 
tors, 17;  and  the  religious 
revival,  18;  favors  Unitarian 
movement,  20;  constitution 
of.  changed  in  1810,  1851, 
1865,   and   1880,  30,   37,  39, 

44,  45;  opposition  to  broad- 
ening membership  of,  32; 
regulation    of    franchise   for, 

45,  302;  and  the  term  of 
residence  for  A.B.,  53;  his- 
tory of.  299-305;  member- 
ship in,  an  honor.  303;  func- 
tions of,  303;  influence  of, 
304,  305 


Pflckard.  Alpheus  S.,  211 
Paine.  .John  K.,  51,  94 
Paine,  Martyn,  240 
Paine,  Robert  Treat,  286 
Palmer.  Oeorge  H..  282 
Palmer,  Thomas.  20 
Parker,  Isaac,  31,   198 
Parker,  Joel,  199 
Parkman,  Francis,  89,  90.  242 
Parkman  Memorial  Committee, 

242 
Parsons,    The^philus,    30,    32, 

297 
Pnrsnns,  Theophilus    (II),  76, 

200 


Peabody,  Andrew  P.,  282,  307 
Pcabody,  George,  277 
Peabody   Museum  of   Archaol- 

ogy  and  Ethnology,  described, 

277-280;    248,  258 
Pearson,  Eliphalet,  28,  29,  32, 

297 
Peck,  William  D.,  267 
Pedro  II,   Emperor  of  Brazil, 

261 
Peirce,  Benjamin,  65 
Peirce,  James  M.,  66  n. 
Penikcse  Island,  228 
Penn.iylvania   Hospital,   183 
Perkins,  Charles  E.,  244 
Perkins  Hall,  165 
Perkins    Memorial    Collection, 

244 
Petersham,      Mass.,      Hanrard 

Forest  at,  217 
Ph.D.,  degree  of,  66,  179,  180, 

181,  182 
Phi     Beta     Kappa,     Harvard 

Chapter  of,  164,  165 
Philanthropic  interests,   154  ff, 
Phillips,  Edward  B.,  282 
Phillips,  Wendell,  164 
Phillips  Brooks  House  Associa- 
tion. 165,  166,  157 
Pi   Eta  Society,  162,   172 
Pickering.  Edward  C,  and  the 

Observatory,  211,  282/1. 
Pierce,  Henry  L.,  88 
Pierce,  .Tohn,  quoted,  308 
Pierce  Hall,  214,  215 
Pierian  Sodality,  152 
Pierpont,  Jonathan,  13 
Political  Clubs,  154 
Pollock.  Sir  Frederick,  quoted, 

201,  202 
Porcellian  Club,  163 
Portsmouth.  N.  H.,  7 
Prayers,  attendance  at,  43.  62 
Preachers,  Board  of,  64,  155 
Preparatory    schools,    and    the 

College.  127.  128 
Prescott,  William,  30,  239 
Prescott,  William  H..  35,  239 
Prescribed  studies,  reduction  in 

number  of,  52 


H 


INDEX 


381 


President    of    the    Univeraity, 

uiDUftl   reports  of,  34,  304; 

duties  of,  51,  296;   and  the 

professional  schools,  305 
President    and     Fellows,     the. 

Bee  Corporation. 
President's  Chair,  the,  309 
Princeton  University,  120,  139, 

141 
Prints,   in  Fogg  Museum,  288 
Prizes  for  undergraduates,  112- 

115 
Probation,  121,  122.  123 
Proctors,  duties  and  trials  of, 

124,  125 
Professional  schools,  study  in, 

made    graduate    worlc,    60  ff. 

And  see  Divinitv  School,  Law 

School,    Medical    School. 
Professors,  retiring  allowances 

for,  96 
Prospect  Union,  156 
Public     Schools.       Bee     High 

Schools. 
Publication  Office,  291 
Publications  of  various  schools 

and  departments,  list  of,  292- 

294 
Putnam,  Frederic  W.,  211 

Q 

Quiney,  Josiah,   164 

Quincy,  Josiah  (11),  Presi- 
dent, 35,  .307,  308;  his  Ilia- 
tory  of  Harvard  Vniversity, 
35 

R 

RadcliflTe  College,  history  of, 
224,  225;  relations  with  the 
University,  225,  226;  equip- 
ment and  endowment  of.  226, 
227;  degrees  conferred  by, 
227 

Recitations,  system  of,  38,  42 

Recorder  of  Harvard  College, 
117 

Religion,  lapse  of  emphasis  on, 
16;  revival  of  interest  in, 
and  its  effect.  17,  18 

Religious  disputes,  12  ff. 


Religious  exercises,  attendance 

at,  63,  64 
Religious  interests,  154  ff. 
Revolutionary    War,    the    Col- 
lege  in   the,  23-25;    a  stim- 
ulus to  surgical  study,  183 
Riant  collection  of  books,  241 
Ricardo  Prize  Scholarship,  114 
Rich,  Obadiah,  230 
Richardson,  Henry  H.,  202 
Richardson,  William  L.,  quoted, 

70 
RIndge  Technical  School,  215 
Ritchie,  Andrew,  263 
Robinson,  Nelson,  Jr.,  216 
Robinson  Hall,  216,  247 
Rockefeller,  John  D.,  190,  101 
Rogers,  Daniel.  20,   119 
Rogers,  John,  President,  8,  11 
Rogers,  William  A.,  283 
Rowing,  140-142,  144,  146 
Royall,  Isaac,  31,  108 
Royce,  Josiah,  164 
Rules,  multiplicity  of.  61 ;  sim- 
plification of,  61,  62 
Rumford,  Count.     Bee  Thomp- 
son, Benjamin. 
Runkle,   John   D.,   210. 


S.B.,  degree  of,  66,  100,  179, 

180 
Sabine,  Wallace  C,  218,  219 
St.  Paul's  Catholic  Club,  156, 

157 
St.  Paul's  Sociely,  156,  157 
Sanborn,  Franklin  B.,  148 
Sanders  Theatre,  conferring  of 

degrees  in,  308-310 
Santayana,  George.  160,  164 
Sargent,   Charles   S..   and    the 

Arboretum,  90,  273,  274;  his 

Bilva     of     North     America, 

275;  249 
Sargent  Prize,   114 
Schiff,  Jacob  H.,  290 
Scholarship,    lack    of    general 

recognition  of,  112 
Schnlarships,     various     groups 

of.  Ill,  112;  in  Law  School, 

204 


332 


INDEX 


■t 

I!  I 


Sohuri.  Carl,  164 

ScirnUfic  Schwil.  See  I^wrenoe 
8cii>ntific  Schiiol. 

Scudder,  Samuel  H.,  211 

fV'arIp,  Arthur,  283 

Sears,    David,    100 

Seari,  Henry  F..  72 

Self-support,  tiee  Employment 
Office,   t'ndergraduatcH. 

Sells,  Goodman,   10 

Semitic  Miimmm,  280,  200,  201 

Sever,  Nicholas,   14 

Sever  Quadrangle.   312 

Sewall,  .loseph.  15 

Sewall,   Samuel,   13.  230 

Shaler.  Nathaniel  S.,  87,  88, 
211.  220 

Sharp,  Granville,  238 

Rhattuck,  George  C,  188 

Sheldon  (Frederick)   Fund,  180 

Shepard,    Samuel,   3 

Shepard.  Thomas.  1 

Shute,  Samuel,  14 

Signet,  the,  162,  1G3 

Simmons  College,  230,  231,  232 

Simpkins,  John,  216 

Smith,  .J.  Lawrence,  264 

Smith,  Theobald.  00,  01 

Social  clubs,  168  ff.;  their  in- 
fluence on  undergraduate 
life,  150 

Social   Service  Committee,   156 

Social  Workers,  School  for,  231, 
2.12 

Socialist  Club,  154 

Societies.  See  Greek  letter, 
Literary,  Musical,  Social  So- 
cieties. 

Society  for  the  Collegiate  In- 
struction of  Women,  224, 
225;  becomes  RadclifTe  Col- 
lege, 225 

Sohier  Prize.  114 

Soldiers  Field.  138,  143 

Sparks,  Jared,  President,  37, 
38 

Speakers'  Club,  153 

Special  reference  libraries,  list 
of,  246  ff. 

Stadium.  Class  Day  exercises 
in,  172,  173;  138,  130,   147 


Starr.  Comfort,  208 
Stearnit,  Asahel,  31,  198 
StearnM,  Oliver,   80 
Stephen,  Sir  Leslie,  251 
Stimson,    Frederic  J.,    150 
Storer,  D.   Humphreys,   186 
Storer,  Kbenezer,  28 
Storer,  Francis  H.,  210 
Story.  Joseph.  30,  33,  47,   100 
Stoughton  Unll,  outrage  in,  68; 

2!).   l«.j,   100 
Sullivant.  William  S.,  272 
Summer  School,  02,  228-230 
Sumner.    Charles,    his    library, 

230-250;    114.  164 
Sumner  Prize,   114 
Suspension,   120,    121 


T.  Jefferson  Coolidge,  Jr.,  Lab- 
oratory, 2.S5 
"Teaching  Elders,"  15 
Tennis,  144 
Thayer,  James  B.,  76 
Thayer,  Joseph  H.,  208 
Thayer,   Nathaniel.  50,   166 
Thayer,  William  R.,  150,  316 
Thayer  Hall,  60,   166 
Thompson,  Benjamin,  83 
Thorndike.  Israel,  238 
Ticknor.  George,  32,   33,  35 
Topiarian  Club.  161 
Torrev,  Henry  W.,  47,  245 
Track  athletics,  143,   144 
Tremont  (Medical)   School,  186 
Trowbridge,  .John,  211 
Tuckerman,    Edward.   272 
Tutors,  tenure  of  office  of,  17 

U 
Tnelassifled  students.  126 
f ndergraduate  life,  change  in 
organization    of,    131  fT.;    ef- 
forts   to    increase    solidarity 
of,  170,  171 
Undergraduates,        intellectual 
interests  of,  148  ff.;  and  the 
social   clubs,    150;   great   in- 
crease   in    number   of    those 
who    work    their    way,    169, 
170  ' 


:  f 


INDEX 


833 


Unitarian  movement,  and  Rev. 

H.   Ware,  29 
Unitarianiitm,  at  Harvard,  206, 

207 
University  Council,  66 
University  Extenition,  02,  230, 

231 
Univeriity  Hall.  34,  03 
University    Lecturi's,    purpose 

of,  44,  65.  66,  228 
University  Museum,  piecemeal 

construction     of,     39;      de- 

•eril>ed,  254  AT. ;  235 


Van   Dyke.  Henry,   164 
Vane.  Sir  Henry,  1 
Varsity   Club.    147.    160 
Vaasall.   William,  20,  21,   119 
Von  Maurer,  Konrad,  241 

W 

Wadsworth,  Benjamin,  Presi- 
dent,  14,  15,  20 

Wadsworth  House,   15 

Walker,  James,  President,  38, 
39   42   240 

Walter  Hastings  Hall,  165 

Warden,  D.  B.,  239 

Ware,  Henry,  his  Unitarian- 
ism  arouses  controversy,  28, 
29,  206,  207 

Ware.  Henry   (IT),  313 

Warnings.    See  Admonitions. 

Warren,  Henry  C,  242,  246 

Warren,  John,  the  real  found- 
er of  the  Medical  School. 
26.  27,  182,  183,  184,  185, 
187,  192 

Warren,  John   C,   189 

Warren,  John  C.    (IT),   190 

Warren,  Joseph,  183 

Warren  House,  246 

Washburn,  Emory.  75,  199,200 

Washington,   George,  24 

WaterhoHse,  Benjamin,  184, 
262,  263,  266 

Watts,  Isaac,  237 

Wealth,  influence  of,  at  Har- 
Tard,  168 


Webber,  Samuel,  President,  28- 

30 
Webster,  John  W.,  263 
Weld,  William  F.,  166,  243 
Weld   Hall,    166 
Wellesley    College,  230 
Wells,  David  Ames,  210 
Welsteed,  William,   14 
Wendell,  Barrett,  150 
Wontworth,  Sir  John,  238 
Wheelwright.  .John  T.,  150 
White.  John  W..  59 
Whitefleld.  George,  17,  19 
Widener,  Harry  Elkins,  his  col- 
lection of  books,  252,  253;  li- 
brary building  in  memory  of, 
253 
Widener   Library,  253 
Wiener,  Leo.  242 
Wigglesworth.  Edward.  13,   18 
Wiley,  Harvev  W.,  211 
Willard,  Joseph,  President,  26- 

28 
Willard,  Samuel,  President,  12 
William  II,  German  Emperor. 

289 
William  and  Mary,  new  charter 

granted  by,  10 
Wilson,  E.   H.,  274 
WMlson,  John.  1 
Wilson.  Woodrow,  164 
Winlock.  Joseph,  282 
Winthrop,   John,    Governor   of 

Massachusetts  Bay.  1,  131 
Winthrop.  John,  Professor,  22, 

24,  280,  281 
Winthrop,  Robert  C,  148 
Wister.  Owen,  160 
Wolcott  Gibbs  Memorial  Lab- 
oratory, 234,  235 
Wyman,  JefTrles,  186,  277 

Y 

Yale  University,  purpose  of  its 
founders,  14,  15;  athletic 
rivalry  of,  136;  annual  con- 
tests with.  138,  139,  141, 
142,  143,  144 


Zeta  Psi,  164 


